The Four Swords
by Sudden Real
Summary: The long awaited sequel to Professional Hero. Now that Vaati is defeated, it is time for everyone to go their own way. Reviews are very appreciated...
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note). I don't make any money on this, although I could really use it, since some high school bully is beating me up for my lunch money, although I'm 26 and I don't even go to school anymore, but he's bigger than me and I'm scared of physical discomfort (damn kids grow up so fast these days).

-

Chapter 1 – Prologue

-

William panted and looked up. Caleb stood there on a rock, his cape bellowing in the wind, seemingly the only one who wasn't out of breath from the long climb. His gaze was fixed on a dark patch of shadows in the mountain flank. William tried to focus on the shadows, but he was still too exhausted of the long climb. Caleb had pushed the six men beyond their limits and they had reached their point of breaking a long time ago, but still Caleb had urged them forward.

"We have arrived."

Caleb had whispered the words but they still echoed over the mountain range like a distant thunder.

"It is here," Caleb continued as he stepped towards the shadows, "that the Great Evil has claimed his victory."

Now that William had caught his breath and the ringing in his ears had stopped, he could see the shadows on the rock wall was actually a cavern. Caleb was right, they had reached their destination. They were almost there. It almost made his fatigue disappear. Almost.

"Caleb…" Franklin panted, "Caleb… could we… rest a bit?… the climb…"

"You want to rest?" Caleb shouted, his voice loud and full of promise of doom, "when we are so close? We are at the doorstep of our destination and you wish to give up?"

"Not give up," William shook his head as he dropped down on the ground, "just rest a bit. The trip… it was too much…"

"Very well," Caleb sighed, "I shall let you rest. But since you fail to see the importance of our destination, I shall tell you the story behind the Four Swords."

-

"A long time ago a demon emerged in these lands, a foul creature by the name of Vaati. He threatened our fine land and all trembled under his awesome powers. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, four heroes emerged, wielding the Four Swords. Not much is known of the Four Swords, some say they were forged by the Gorons to fight Vaati, others say the swords were weapons brought from heaven or hell even, others still say that they were the swords of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. It is not known. As is what exactly happened with the four heroes. All that is known, is that they have defeated Vaati, right inside that cavern. But nothing was ever seen of them, except for their swords. They are driven deep in the black centre stone of the cavern and have remained their ever since. It was believed that the black stone was in fact Vaati, turned to stone due to the combined power of the Four Swords, and therefore guards were put here to watch over the swords. Guards that have received enforcements few years back, but who were also killed by the Great Evil that worked for Vaati. He could not, however, free Vaati but he has weakened his prison. It is clear that the monster is free again, and we must use the powers of the Four Swords once again to protect our land and fight the demon. Now, while he is still weak."

-

Caleb looked over his young disciples. He had handpicked them out of the village, and had trained them in the art of warfare. All of them were strong lads and could handle a sword as the best, he had seen to that. True, he needed only four to wield the Four Swords, but he had taken six, just in case something unexpected happened. Better overkill then a small cut, his drill sergeant had told him in his younger days. Caleb couldn't help but grin. If he had told his recruits he had had younger days, they wouldn't have believed him. It was hard, even for him now, to imagine Caleb as anything else then the hardened soldier he was, half of his face covered in scars, his chin as it was chizled out of stone, with a large quarterstaff in his hand, mistaken by many as a mere walking staff.

"Rested enough?" he barked, "it is time to continue!"

He turned around and disappeared into the shadows. William sighed and tried to find the energy to get up. As he looked up, he saw Macleus extend his hand to help him up.

"Thanks brother," William grunted as he pulled himself up, "tell me, what do you think of Caleb's story?"

"It's the truth," his older brother shrugged, "I mean, it's what we've been told all this time ever since we were little kids, but there are some holes in it."

"Holes?"

"Yes," Macleus continued, "like the Great Evil? Why did he come, killed the guards and left again? Why not stay until Vaati was much stronger? It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe it had nothing to do with Vaati?" William shrugged, "maybe it was another demon. After all, it had been spreading death long before it came here, and continued long after as well."

"Could be," Macleus replied, "but let's focus on one demon at a time. Let's follow the others in the cavern."

-

The cavern was a dark, desolate place. The shadows seemed to soak up the light from Caleb's torch like a sponge. Something cracked underneath Williams boot and when he glanced down he saw it was a human bone that had splintered under his weight.

"We are getting close," Caleb whispered as he trailed the cavern wall with his fingers, following shallow scratches.

Franklin had almost fallen over an empty armour (or so he thought) but regained his footing quickly. Suddenly it seemed the darkness grew thicker, which, according to William, could only mean they had reached a large hall inside the cave. Caleb lit two torches near the entrance and followed the wall until he had found and lit all torches. Even with fourteen torches lit, the ceiling was still hidden in shadow. In the centre of the hall was a large black stone, four swords protruding it from each direction of the winds. Caleb closed in at the stone, carefully and in awe, and gently caressed the stone.

"Macleus! Tellin! Barbatos! Freykon! To each a sword!" Caleb shouted.

William felt sort of disappointed that he was not chosen, but suddenly his attention was drawn to a fallen soldier near him. He kneeled next to the skeleton and picked up it's shield. It was a white shield with a large blue stripe on it. In the blue could three golden triangles be seen. He had never seen a shield like this, nor the symbols. But then again, Caleb had told them that the guards had received reinforcements before the Great Evil had come and killed them, the same Great Evil that killed his parents and so many of his village. He looked up as his brother, along with the others, grabbed the hilt of the sword in the stone and pulled it out.

-

The last thing William remembered from his time in the cavern was the scream…


	2. Wanderers

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 2 – Wanderers

-

Lucy ran through the woods, just as she had done before. But unlike those time, this time she ran for her life. The woods had become dangerous, far more dangerous than they had ever been. Ever since Caleb had gone up the mountain monsters had began appearing in the woods. Now she was being chased by one of those monsters. She risked a glance backwards and saw two large Moblins coming after her between the trees. She shrieked and tried to run faster, but tripped over the root of a tree. Just as she tried to get up, she felt the hand of one of the Moblins around her leg. She turned on her back and saw the large monster grin as he slowly pulled her closer. His companion stood right behind him, with an even bigger grin. Suddenly he shocked three times and fell over, three arrows protruding his back. The first Moblin let go of Lucy and reached for his sword.

"That won't do you any good," a boy, barely seventeen, said as he stepped out of the bushes, "you'll be dead before you can make a decent swing."

The Moblin roared and stormed forward. The man dodged the blow, stuck his sword deep in the side of the Moblin and retracted it in one fluent motion. The Moblin did a few more paces, before his brain realised he should be dead and fell down.

"Are you alright?" the man asked.

Lucy yelped silently and cringed. She looked the man up and down and saw he wasn't one of the village. He was dressed in green, his long blonde hair framing his face under a green cap.

"Don't worry, you're safe now," he tried to reassure her, "they're dead. They won't bother you anymore."

"Is she alright?" a second man emerged from the bushes, looking identically to the first, followed by a girl, dressed in green with flaming red hair, and a young boy, also in green and blonde.

"She appears unhurt," the first man replied, "but she's till shaken up."

"Who… who are you?" Lucy asked.

"Ah, that's better," the man smiled, "I'm Darmani, and these are my brothers, Mikau and Dekaru, and my sister, Malon. We're from Hyrule."

-

Lucy had followed the strangers to their camp, which was nothing more than a fire with some backpacks around and four horses, and now sat close to the fire, trying to fully understand she was in fact saved.

"I'm Lucy," she suddenly said, causing the others to stop talking, "I come from the village Pollykin, just outside the woods."

"Hah!" the youngest (Dekaru said her mind) smiled, "told you we weren't far from the edge of the woods!"

The others hushed him and urged Lucy to continue.

"We guard the Four Swords," Lucy said, "well, we used to. Caleb, a former guard, went to retrieve the swords a few months ago to fight the returning demon Vaati, but then the world changed and the monsters appeared."

"What do you mean, the world changed?" Malon asked.

"The woods became packed with monsters, and the lake near the woods suddenly froze. Volcano's in the mountain range on the other side of the village suddenly erupted. And worse of all…" she looked up to the four strangers, "the dead have started to wander the swamps."

"Isn't anyone trying to figure out what has happened?" Mikau asked (or it could be Darmani, Lucy couldn't tell the difference between the twins), "this… Caleb, what happened to him?"

"Nobody knows, but only two of his recruits returned to the village. The other four have disappeared with Caleb."

"Where are these two now?" Darmani asked, "can't they tell what happened?"

Lucy shook her head and started sobbing.

"They went into the woods to find food and to take out some of the monsters, I was on my way to find them and tell them some news. But they can't remember what happened in the cave," she said, "they say they passed out and that the cave was empty when they woke up. There was no sign of Caleb, the other four, the swords or even the black stone that had the swords in it. Nobody knows what happened."

"I do," a voice said, causing them to look up.

Lucy couldn't see anyone except a great owl sitting on a large tree stump.

"Kaepora? Is that you?" Mikau laughed as he walked towards the owl, "I haven't seen you in what? Seven years?"

"Correct," the owl seemed to nod, "right after Link succeeded in stopping Zelda. I haven't had a reason to make my presence clear to you, although I have been watching over you. All of you have grown strong and talented. It is clear you are indeed Link's offspring. And now you face a task to see if you're worthy of his name."

"This… Vaati demon," Malon nodded.

"Indeed, it is time to live up to your legacy. It is time to become heroes."

-

Kaepora came sitting on Mikau's arm as he told them where they could find the ones fighting Vaati.

"It is most fortunate that I found you here," the former sage of wisdom said, "saved me the trouble of looking for you."

"Din told us something was happening here," Darmani said.

"Ah, yes, how is the Oracle of Seasons?" the owl asked.

"Finally allowed to take a breather," Malon replied, "the mess from the war is finally clearing up. The Moblins are roaming the boarders again, but they're not fighting the people of Holodrum or Labrynna anymore. In fact, they're doing their best to keep monsters out, giving the people time to rebuild their homes."

"Who really knows how the Moblin minds works." Kaepora mused.

"Don't you?" Dekaru grinned.

"I know a lot, but not all," Kaepora admitted, "therefore I will leave when you'll reach the camp, so I can look further into this matter. It appears not all is what it seems."

The owl opened his wings and flew off.

"He knows," Mikau said when the owl had left.

"And he wants us to find out on our own," Darmani nodded.

"We'll find something out soon enough," Malon said as she stretched to see through the bushes, "the camp is over there."

The only thing that proved it was a camp, were the remnants of a campfire and a small hut, camouflaged with branches and loaf. No one was seen as the four heroes dismounted with Lucy.

"Where are they?" Darmani asked, and Lucy couldn't help but thinking he said it a tad louder than necessary.

"I have no idea," Mikau shrugged just before he suddenly dove forwards.

As he rolled upwards, his arm extended and with a large arc something brownish flew through the air. The boomerang entered the bushes and two groans could be heard.

"Come out," Malon said as she and Dekaru aimed their bows to the place the sounds had come from.

Two men emerged from the woods, both holding a sword in one hand and rubbing their heads where the boomerang had hit them.

"Present from Daibe, prince of the Zora of Hyrule." Mikau explained Lucy, but she paid no attention to him.

"William! Are you okay?" she shouted as she ran to the boy.

"I'm fine," he said as he pulled her behind him, "my pride's hurt more than me. Who are these guys?"

"They're heroes," she said, "they saved me from the Moblins."

"You have nothing to fear from us," Malon said as she lowered her bow, "we're here to fight Vaati."

"I don't trust them," the other one said, "I think they're monsters in disguise."

"Don't be ridiculous, Franklin," William said, "we haven't encountered any like those before, so why should we now? I'm William, and this is my friend Franklin. Did you really save my little sister?"

"We did," Darmani nodded, "mind telling us what exactly is going on? Lucy said you were one of Caleb's followers to defeat Vaati, but that's all she could tell us."

William looked at Franklin and then at his sister.

"Very well, I'll tell you what we know."

-

"… and when they pulled out the sword, everything went black. We woke up at the foot of the mountain, and the monsters had come. We don't know what happened to Caleb or the others. And for some reason, we're unable to climb the mountain. It feels like an invisible force field is shielding it from outsiders."

"It's clear the monster set some kind of trap to ensure the destruction of the weapons that could imprison it," Franklin continued, "guess the Great Evil weakened the seal more than Caleb thought."

"Who's the Great Evil?" Dekaru asked.

"A monster that came here a couple of years ago. He killed a lot of people, including our parents who were soldiers in our army," William said, "he wandered around and killed a lot of people in almost every country. You must have heard of him. He was also called the Black Death."

Mikau, Darmani, Malon and Dekaru had indeed heard of the Black Death before, and they knew it under another name… Link, their father.

-

AN: Just so you know (for any new readers), this is the sequel to Professional Hero, in which everything about Mikau, Darmani, Malon, Dekaru and Link as the Black Death will be explained. I should warn you though, it's rated M for a reason…


	3. Into the woods

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 3 – Into the woods

-

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Lucy suddenly said, "I've got news from the village."

"What is it?" William asked his sister.

"A wizard from Mendrova city has come to seek you," the little girl said, "he said he needs your swords to help him defeat Vaati."

"A wizard?" Franklin laughed, "a wizard thinks he can defeat Vaati?"

"We need all the help we can get," William hushed him, "and don't forget, Vaati is a sorcerer as well. Tell me, do you know how he thinks he can do this?"

The little girl shook her head.

"Well then," William said as he stood up, "let's get moving back to Pollykin."

-

"Is there something special in Pollykin?" Dekaru asked while he looked at some nearby trees.

"Huh?" William frowned as he turned to look at the young boy.

"We might as well try to find what's wrong here," Dekaru said as he looked at William, but his gaze returned to the forest, "it's clear something isn't right."

"Look, kid," Franklin said, "we go back to the village and then we see if we can fight off Vaati, which I doubt we can, since he lives somewhere in the skies."

"You sure about that?" Darmani asked.

"Yes," Franklin turned to the twins, uncertain which one of the two had spoken, "every time that foul bastard came to terrorize us, he came from the skies and he returned there."

"And how do you think you'll get to the skies?" Malon asked.

"I don't know!" Franklin said, not really believing he was having this conversation, "maybe the wizard will know. I mean, that's why he's gotta be here, right?"

"We won't be able to get to Vaati," Dekaru said, "not without weakening him."

"And how do we do that?" Franklin sighed.

"Like I said," Dekaru looked at Franklin, "something is wrong in these woods, and since monsters appeared in these woods, there's got to be a connection."

"What do you mean?" William asked, "a connection?"

"Vaati reappears and in four regions monsters break loose," Dekaru explained, "and there were four swords that imprisoned Vaati. I say four's the key number. There's something in these woods that can give us an edge over Vaati, and I say we go get it."

"Oh," Franklin grinned, "you say we get it. And you can just boss us around? There's no way I'm gonna listen to a little fourteen year old…"

"I'm fifteen," Dekaru interrupted.

"Whatever! Snotnosed kid who think he knows how to beat an ancient evil. I'm eighteen and I KNOW I can't beat Vaati…"

"You're eighteen?" Dekaru asked as he stepped closer to Franklin.

"Yeah," Franklin shrugged.

Dekaru suddenly grabbed his Deku stick from his backpack and hit Franklin in the stomach with it. Franklin folded double and Dekaru brought his stick up, bringing it in contact with his opponents chin. In a swift motion he swirled the stick around him and swept Franklin's legs from under him. Franklin fell hard on the ground. Dekaru put away his stick and stepped over the moaning man.

"Yet I'm bigger than you. We go further in the woods."

-

"Well! That's settles it," Darmani grinned and patted William on the back, who had been gazing at the short fight with open mouth, "where's that Moblin camp, maybe we can find a clue there."

"Or maybe some temple?" Mikau ventured, "temples are also highly valued by evil forces."

"That's right," Darmani nodded, "nothing beats a temple."

William looked astounded at the coolness of the twins, like the fight never occurred, and blinked.

"Don't worry," Malon smiled, "after a while you'll get used to this. But maybe I think it's better if you helped your friend up."

William blinked again, and suddenly seemed to remember Franklin who was trying to get up, spitting out some blood.

"And where the hell do you think you'll find these "evil forces"? We don't know where the Moblin Camp is and we don't know anything about a temple either!" Franklin spat out.

"Maybe the pixies know," Lucy said.

All looked at the little girl.

"Pixies?" Malon frowned.

"Not this child's story." Franklin sighed.

"They really exist!" Lucy cried out, "I had found one of them when those Moblin surprised me."

"Could you tell us we can find them?" Mikau asked.

"I don't know," Lucy shrugged, "maybe they won't show themselves to you. I should go with you so they know they can trust you."

Malon looked at William.

"Fine," William caved, "you can come with us."

-

"Where exactly did he learn to fight like this?" William asked Malon as they were going deeper in woods.

"HE?" Malon raised an eyebrow.

"You know, your kid brother," William answered, not fully getting the hint, as he pointed to Dekaru who held Lucy firmly on his horse, "I mean, I was trained for five years, ever since I was thirteen, by one of the best swordsman I know, and I can't move like that. And with a simple stick!"

"WE were trained by the last two Hero's of Time of Hyrule ever since we could walk," Malon explained, "we weren't trained for this, we were destined, born, to do this. Much to the dismay of our father," Malon muttered.

"The Hero of Time?" William's eyes grew wide, "you mean, the real Hero of Time? I heard stories of him! I'd be dying to meet him! What's he like?"

"He… he died," Malon said, not wanting to tell him he had actually met him already, all those years ago when Link was on a rampage as the Black Death.

"I'm…I'm sorry to hear that… If he was your mentor…"

"He was more," Malon said, "he was our father."

"Your father was the Hero of Time? That's so cool!"

Suddenly it sunk in what he had said.

"I mean…you must have been proud of him…uhm, how did he die? If you don't mind me asking."

"He died, sacrificed his life, to kill a monster."

"Just a monster? Or… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound disrespectful."

"An evil more terrifying than you've ever seen," Malon said without any emotion in her voice, "Vaati would piss himself in he… it's presence."

"I've never heard of this," William frowned, "and I had heard of how the Hero of Time had defeated Ganandorf…"

"Ganondorf," Malon corrected.

"…right, sorry, and Onox in Holodrum and Veran in Labrynna! But I don't remember anything of hearing of his demise while another evil was threatening the world."

"That's because…" Malon searched for the right words, or the closest wrong ones, "the terrifying of the evil was in the power that it could mask it's evil. You never knew it was evil until it had sunk he… it's claws in your back. And then it either was too late, or you welcomed it. In most cases it wouldn't even stab you in the back, you would just spread your arms and offer your chest for the final resting place of her dagger."

"Her?"

Malon's look grew cold.

"Forget I said that, it looked like a woman, and I've heard a long time ago she was, but when it opposed my parents, it had become a monster."

"Your… parents?"

"Yeah, that's us," Malon tried to smile, "a whole family of heroes."

She urged her horse to go faster and left a dumbstruck William behind.

-

"You know, I just can't believe you!"

William turned around at face Franklin.

"What?"

"First you don't help me against that kid, not that I really needed help, he caught me off guard, and now you're trying to get in the pants of that girl."

"Okay, first of all," William said angrily, "I'm not trying to get into her pants! And second of all, even if he didn't catch you off guard, that kid would have kicked the living snot out of you."

"Humph."

"I don't think even I could stand a chance against him."

"Like you're a better swordsman than me!"

"Of course," William shrugged, "I didn't get beat up by a kid."

"HEY!" Franklin shouted.

"Will you two shut the hell up?" one of the twins hissed, "we're on enemy territory here. If those Moblin came here before, they can come again. As soon as we find these pixies, you should return to the village with Lucy."

"We'll make sure Lucy's safe," William said, "and besides, you'd probably get lost if we weren't here to guide you."

"Lucy," Dekaru said to draw the attention away from the bickering, "how far to the pixies?"

"We're here," a voice said.

The youngsters drew their weapons as they looked around.

"There they are!" the little girl said as she pointed to a tree.

Within seconds several hundreds of little men with red caps, not even an inch high, emerged from the tree, looking cautiously at the armed kids.

"Are you the pixies?" Darmani asked.

"We are…" an old pixie stepped forward, stroking his long beard, "the Minish."

-

AN: If you want a geographical sketch: as you already know from the first part, Holodrum and Labrynna lay north-east from Hyrule and Tempora in the east. Mendrova lays south-south-west from Hyrule, on the other side of the Gerudo desert, but still connected to Hyrule (in a way) by the river Hylia which flows underground underneath the desert (as explained in The Secret of Dark Link).

Oh, and just so you know, the ages of the kids in this story are as follows: Darmani and Mikau are both 18 (wow, twins who are the same age, how novel), Malon is 16 and Dekaru is 15.


	4. The Minish

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 4 – The Minish

-

Link's four children took place on the ground around the Minish Elder along with Lucy while Franklin and William stood in awe upon seeing the hundreds of little people.

"You have done right to come to us," the Minish Elder said, "for you could say this whole thing starts with us…"

"How can it start with you?" William asked as he came closer, "Vaati was a demon, a… a sorcerer who became a demon, not some pixie."

"Minish, boy, Minish," the Elder corrected him, "and before he was a sorcerer, he was a Minish, like all of us. You see, to start at the beginning, Vaati was an apprentice of the Minish sorcerer, Ezlo, but Vaati was… intrigued by your world. He studied it carefully and became somehow… corrupted by it. He saw that men in your world craved power, so he also wanted power. Ezlo tried to stop him, but Vaati used an unknown spell to steal his power and render him useless. Vaati then turned his back on the Minish world and entered your world, posing as one of your own. Thanks to his magic, he was able to defeat the mightiest of champions and took over control of the land. As his interests fell upon the neighbouring countries, a hero appeared amongst us. I remember him well, although I was still a young boy in those days. His name was Raven. I don't remember from where he came but it was from a far away land and was considered a hero amongst his people. He tried to fight Vaati, but failed as well. He escaped death however when Ezlo revealed himself at that time. Ezlo had been successful at escaping the prison Vaati had sealed him in and led Raven to our midst. We were able to forge him a sword, powered by the four elements, earth, water, wind and fire. With this sword Raven was able to defeat Vaati's forces, but when he faced Vaati himself, the evil sorcerer split himself up in four versions of himself. Elzo, who stood besides Raven for support, enchanted him so he too would split up in four persons holding four swords who each had a different aspect of the original sword. After Vaati saw he could not defeat the four Ravens, he merged back together and formed a demon. The Ravens however did not merge, but attacked the demon and were able to vanquish it. As they struck simultaneously, the power of the swords turned the demon into stone and entrapped Vaati within. Raven then returned to his homeland and was never seen again."

-

"And now that the four swords are removed from the stone," Darmani continued, "Vaati is loose again. And has probably destroyed the swords."

"No, the swords cannot be destroyed so easily and Vaati still is weak," the Elder said, "in fact, the swords still hold their power and strangely enough have proven to be very useful tools for Vaati."

"What do you mean?" Mikau asked.

"We thought only Raven would be able to use the sword, but it seems that without his… presence, there's still is enough power in the swords and he has given the swords to his four lieutenants who he uses to control this land, while he gains power. With the power of the swords and his lieutenants, he will be able to do what he dreamed of when his power is restored. Conquering the world."

"So if we defeat his lieutenants and take the swords, we have a chance to defeat Vaati?" Darmani ventured.

"Indeed, even if they are not at their full capacity," the Elder nodded, "but do not underestimate the power of the swords although they are not as strong as they used to be."

"We won't," Darmani said with a glint in his eye, "we never do."

-

"Where can we find the swords?" Dekaru asked, "we think one of them is here in the woods."

"And you are correct," the Elder nodded, "deep in the forest is the Forest Shrine where one of the lieutenants has take residence. There are many Moblins guarding it, and I cannot tell what dangers lie within."

"We'll just have to find out the hard way, then." Malon said as she stood up, "please tell us where we can find the shrine and we'll do what we can to defeat the evil that corrupts the woods."

"The Forest Shrine lies in the south west of here, underneath a large tree. Just follow the nearby stream and you will come to a secluded pond where you can leave your horses. The shrine is a bit further to the west."

"What about the other swords?" Dekaru asked.

"All I can say, is that each swords is drawn to the place of it's element. Find the element and there you will find the sword."

With these words the Elder stood up and disappeared in the nearby tree, as did all the Minish.

"Now we know where we have to be," Darmani said as he got up, "now we gotta find out who to stab."

-

"What about Lucy?" William asked as he held his sister's hand, "we can't just leave her here?"

"That shouldn't be a problem," a small voice said, and some of the Minish jumped back into sight.

"We can look after her," another said, "she'll be perfectly safe here. Our magic will protect her."

"I don't know," William shook his head.

"Come on, William," Lucy pleaded, "I'll be safer here than if I come with you. And if you take me back to town, it'll be too long and you can't help the Minish. I'll be alright, please?"

"Fine," William sighed, "but be careful and stay out of sight, okay? I'll come back as soon as possible."

Lucy kissed her brother goodbye and disappeared with the Minish in the bushes.

"You're just gonna leave her here?" Franklin hissed, "are you insane?"

"She has a point, she'll be safer here than with us." William shot back, "now let's go so we can get this over with. The sooner we're done, the sooner we can get Lucy back and go to town."

"Fine!" Franklin shook his head and walked angrily back to his horse, "it's your sister, I'm not responsible for her."

"Annoying little fellow, isn't he?" Darmani whispered to his brother.

Mikau grinned and nodded.

-

They had left their horses behind near the small pond, not far from the Moblin camp. Silently (or as silently as possible in the case of William and Franklin) they snuck towards the entrance of the shrine, guarded by the Moblins. Darmani climbed a tree and counted the number of Moblins.

"Twelve," he whispered as he returned, "but I saw two come out of the shrine, so I don't know how many are in there."

"We can take them," Mikau nodded as he readied his bow.

"Are you insane?" Franklin hissed, "that's twelve against six!"

"Best odds we've had so far," Dekaru shrugged as he fired his slingshot.

The large nut flew through the camp and clacked open against a tree on the other side. Quickly the Moblins had picked up their weapons and eyed the bushes where the sound originated. Without a sound Darmani, Mikau, Malon and Dekaru jumped out of the bushes and let go off their arrows. Four Moblins fell down and Malon was able to shoot another one before they realised they were under attack. A short fight later all Moblins laid dead at their feat.

"That's strange," Mikau said to no one in particular as he seemed to investigate the blood on his sword, "I could have sworn you said twelve against six, not twelve against four! What gives?" he glared at Franklin.

"Yeah," Darmani crossed his arms, "thank you for joining us."

"I'm… I'm sorry," William said, "but you guys were so fast…"

"I think it's best if you stay here." Malon simply stated.

"Forget it!" Franklin said, pointing his sword at the four heroes, "I still don't trust you guys! We're going with you to stop you if you try to do something to help Vaati!"

"Just don't get in our way," Darmani said as he turned towards the shrine.


	5. The Forest Shrine

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note). I don't make any money on this, although I could really use it, since some high school bully is beating me up for my lunch money, although I'm 26 and I don't even go to school anymore, but he's bigger than me and I'm scared of physical discomfort (damn kids grow up so fast these days).

-

Chapter 5 – The Forest Shrine

-

The only light visible in the first room of the shrine was the daylight, coming through the entrance. The door leading further was barely visible in the shadows. Needless to say, the small room became quickly crowded when the six people entered it. Just as William opened his mouth to say they should have brought a torch, Darmani lifted his hand and drew his sword. With a soft click the door slid open and Darmani thrust his sword forward, through the skull of the Moblin coming through. Mikau pushed the door open, revealing a large room with six torches in the middle, set up in a circle, showing a large door at the end and two staircases on either side. Ten Moblins were still in the centre, taking up their weapons as they noticed the intruders. Malon and Dekaru quickly shot their arrows while Darmani and Mikau charged forward to kill off the others. After a short fight, the four youngsters came out the victors.

-

"Now what?" William asked as he looked around the room.

"The door seems to be locked," Malon nodded towards the large door, "so we'll have to find the key. Since none of these have it, I think it's somewhere deeper in the shrine."

"Question is," Darmani continued, "do we stick together or do we split up so we can go through the staircases faster?"

"Splitting up seems faster," nodded Mikau, "but how do we divide up?"

He quickly glanced to William and Franklin, as if he wanted to show they were the reason they would go slower.

"I'll go left, with Darmani and Franklin," Dekaru said, "Malon, Mikau and William can take the other stairs. We'll meet up back here."

"We're listening to a kid?" Franklin smirked and shook his head.

"You wanna stay here?" Mikau asked, "fine, we'll move faster that way."

"Forget it!" Franklin shot back, "I told you, I don't trust you guys. I'm not leaving you out of my sight."

"Then you better move fast," Darmani said as he ran up the stairs, followed closely by Dekaru.

Franklin cursed and ran up.

-

"I'm sorry about Franklin," William said as Malon opened the door, "he's a bit…"

"We can talk about this later," Malon interrupted him, "we don't know what's on the other side."

"Oh, right," William nodded.

The room was empty, except for a huge fire in the centre of the room which illuminated the room, showing a door on the other side.

"Everything is clear." William said as he entered.

Just as he said this, iron bars came crashing down over the two doors, sealing them in, and green drops came falling from the ceiling. Six jelly-like creatures slowly advanced to them, but Franklin jumped forward and slashed one of them in half. It simple reformed and advanced again.

"There's some sort of core in them," Dekaru said as he got next to William and slashed the tiny core in half. The green jelly turned into liquid and the blob splashed down.

"Guess that works," Malon said and jumped over the blobs. Three of them moved in on her as she stood silent with her swordarm stretched out behind her. While her sword flashed an eerie light, she spun around, slashing through the cores of the blobs. Dekaru quickly acted and cut down the remaining two. Slowly the bars moved upwards again.

"How were you able to aim for those tiny cores in such a move?" William asked Malon.

"Practise and skill," she replied, "by the way, nothing is "clear" in here. It's under control of an evil force, remember?"

"Oh, and nice job too, Dekaru," Dekaru muttered under his breath.

Malon pushed a stone on the next door and it slid upwards to reveal a dark room.

"Great, we picked the wrong way," Malon sighed, "Darmani could have used his fire stone here."

"Fire stone?" William frowned.

"Never mind," Malon waved it away, "but we'll have to go back to get a torch."

"Can't Dekaru just light his stick on fire?"

"HEY! This stick was a present from the Deku tree!" Dekaru scowled, "I'm not lighting it on fire. It has sentimental value."

"Not to mention a metal core," Malon grinned, "now let's get a torch."

-

The room was pitch black, but faint squeeking and scracthing was to be heard.

"Darmani, your turn." Mikau broke the silence.

A faint red glow emerged from Darmani's hand, slowly growing brighter. The squeeking got louder and suddenly a few dozen Kees came flying down from the ceiling. Franklin started swinging his sword from left to right, cutting two or three Kees down, while Darmani and Mikau spun around, slashing eight to nine Kees in half with one spin. When the last squeek died down, a large fire erupted from the centre of the room. Darmani put a red stone back in a small purse on his belt.

"What was that?" Franklin asked as he dabbed some blood away from his arms where the Kees bit him.

"A present from the Goron Big Brother," Darmani responded, "it's a stone that gives light in darkness. It comes in handy from time to time. Are you alright? They got you badly."

"Yeah, I'll be fine" Franklin panted as he whiped the blood away, "they took me by surprise. I have to say, I'm even suprised I managed to kill some."

"Your first and second blow were pure panic," Mikau said, "but after that, they became more focussed. Well, as focussed as you can be in a swarm of Kees."

"Panic?" Franklin raised an eyebrow, "I'll show you panic..."

"Later, okay?" Darmani walked over to the door at the other side, "we still have a job to do."

"He IS good," Mikau whispered to his brother, "well, he's not bad."

"The guy knows how to use a sword," nodded Darmani, "but I doubt he has seen much combat."

"What are you guys whispering about?" Franklin asked.

"Nothing," Darmani replied, "just trying to figure out how to open this door. Ah, here we go."

"Yeah right," Franklin muttered as the door slid open.

-

Several torches were placed on the walls of the round chamber. In the middle a large armoured figure was kneeling, his hand resting on a huge axe. Slowly and carefully the twins entered the room, followed closely by Franklin. The door slammed shut behind them and the eyeslits of the armoured giant lit up with a red glow. Darmani and Mikau slid their red shield of their back and held it up. That's when Franklin realised he didn't have one with him.

"Swarm out!" Darmani said as he stepped to the left, keeping his eye on the slowly rising knight.

"It's just the two of us," Mikau retorted and went to the right, "you can't really swarm with two."

Just as Darmani was going to a respond with a "screw you", the knight dashed forward towards Franklin and swung his axe. The young man tried to fence off the blow and barely managed to get out of the way of the large axe, though he still had the wind knocked out of him. He panted heavily as the axe rose again, unable to move for a second.

"Get out of the way!" Mikau shouted as he stormed forward and hit the arm of the knight.

Franklin suddenly seemed to realise he wasn't dead yet and rolled out of the way.

"Look alive, dude," Darmani said and attacked the other side of the knight, "if you don't, we won't bother to save you again."

Franklin gritted his teeth and thrust his sword forward, finding a weak spot in the armour. The knight turned without any effort, taking Franklin's sword with him, to face his previous target. Franklin blinked as the axe rose again, frozen to the ground.

"What did I just say?" Darmani shouted as he pulled Franklin out of the way.

"My sword should have..." Franklin said weakly.

"But it didn't," Mikau said as he landed another blow to the giant, causing a shoulder piece of the armour to fall off, "which means this is an Iron Knuckle."

"A what?"

"A magical armour that fights on itself with no one in it." Darmani explained, "Though we've seen other versions too... Now stay back!"

Darmani pushed Franklin back hard and faced the Iron Knuckle again. As the Iron Knuckle focussed on one half of the twin, the other would attack him from the rear and soon the empty armour lay in pieces on the ground. Franklin stepped forward to pick up his sword again. While he was going through bits of the armour, Mikau turned to Darmani.

"The guy has guts," he whispered.

"The guy has frustrations that we're better than him," Darmani responded, "we'll have to watch him before he does something stupid."

"Hey, there's a key in here." Franklin said as he picked up a key from within the remains of the Iron Knuckle, "now we can go on."

"Hold on," Mikau said, "there's a chest over there. Let's see what's in it."

Darmani opened the chest and got out an old white jar with a blue ring around.

"A jar? That's all that's in it?" Franklin said, "my grandmother has ten like those on her shelf."

"Isn't there else in the chest?" Mikau frowned, "because, frankly, it's a bit, I don't know... mundane..."

Darmani shrugged and turned the blue ring a bit. Suddenly the jar started to hum lightly and the air was sucked into the opening of the jar. Mikau was just in time to grab his cap before it got sucked in. Darmani turned the ring again in it's original position and the humming stopped.

"Guess it's not so mundane..." he grinned.

"So, what are we supposed to do with it?" Franklin asked.

"I'm sure it'll come in useful someday," Mikau shrugged, "but I guess we better see what the others are up to."

-

Dekaru and Malon entered the room, holding their swords and shields ready while William followed them, carrying the torch. The small flame pierced the darkness just enough to show an unlit brazier in the middle. Behind them the door slammed shut. Some faint chittering was heard in the darkness. William stepped up to the brazier and lit it before Malon could stop him. Quickly the room lit up and a dozen large beetle-like creatures woke up and started to move.

"Fool," Dekaru hissed, "what did you do? Now you've woken the whole bunch."

"I'm sorry…" William apologised as he quickly stepped back, "I didn't know what was there."

"Think we can shoot some of them before they can come over?" Malon asked as she started to lower her shield, but quickly raised it again, as one of them suddenly flung his razor sharp mandibles at her.

The mandibles ricocheted from her shield, still leaving a big scratch. With a loud, sickening crack, new glistening mandibles sprung out of the beetle's head.

"Cute," Malon growled, "William, get behind me before those things hit you!"

The young man didn't take long to comply. Dekaru slid towards the wall, holding his shield forward, to fence off the ranged attacks of the Scissors Beetles.

"Take my shield," Malon said, "Ill shoot them, but I need cover."

"What?" William looked up, "oh, right…"

He kneeled down with the shield in front of him as Malon took out her bow and started to shoot. Her first two arrows grazed the armour of the beetles, but the third one hit it right in it's open mouth and entered it's brain.

"Just as I thought," she muttered, "only one weak spot."

"Fry them!" Dekaru shouted as a beetle came charging him.

Malon powered up a fire arrow and let go. It seemed the arrow left a red trail as it pierced the air and hit a Scissors Beetle right in it's open mouth. It exploded in a fiery ball and a wall of flames, combined with shards of the beetle's armour, engulfed the beetles. Dekaru quickly dispatched of the surviving ones as the fire died down and the door opened again.

"That… that was amazing," William said, "how did you do that?"

"Fairy magic," Malon replied, "Dekaru! There's a chest there, I hope I didn't damage it too much?"

"Nope," Dekaru said as he checked the large wooden chest, "just a bit charred and battered, but I think it's content is still okay."

He opened it and took out a large golden key.

"Think this one looks a bit too expensive for that simple iron lock, but at least we got it, right?"

"Right," Malon nodded, "now let's go check on the rest of the boys."

-

AN: There you have it, the first dungeon. Nothing like in the Minish Cap, but that's because I couldn't find a dungeon map anywhere on-line. So I had to make the dungeons up myself (I was too lazy to fire up my GBA to check them myself and this way I don't have to describe them to boredom, because I know how tedious writing "adventures" in dungeons can be). This means you'll find monsters that aren't in the Minish Cap (like the Iron Knuckle, who technically IS in MC but under the name Dark Nut) and monsters that are in other dungeons/area's.

A second note is that I've changed the rating to T again and filtered out the "naughty" words. I figured that this would be best since it won't be so dark and graphic like Professional Hero, Link's kids are aged 14 to 17, and having a 14 year-old kid say the F-word (fornicate) is a bit over the top for this story (it doesn't really fit the context here), and also I might get some new readers this way (since I noticed M-rated stories don't show up in the "New Story" section).

Also, attentive readers (well, those that read all chapters in a row) will notice the four kids now have shields. I should have mentioned them earlier when I introduced them, but I completely forgot. I've had Link run around with his large sword so many times in Professional Hero I nearly forgot he had a shield in the game. Still, don't think they'll use it a lot in the future, but this is to stop you guys from going "OMG, I spotted a mistake, they have shields now and first they didn't!"

Still, that doesn't mean you shouldn't review...


	6. The First Element

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 6 – The First Element

-

When both groups joined again, they returned to the first room. The key Franklin had taken out of the Iron Knuckles armour, opened the closed door. A large round room with a pool in the middle and a large door with a golden lock was to be seen. Slowly all of them entered and only William and Franklin involuntarily flinched as the door slammed shut behind them.

"There's nothing here," William remarked, "except for that pool."

"That doesn't look like water," Dekaru whispered, "I think it's gree..."

Suddenly a green blob with inside a blueish core rose out of the pool.

"How are we supposed to kill that?" William asked as he pushed himself against the wall.

"We shoot the core!" Malon said as she got out her bow and shot an arrow.

The arrow just slowed down as it entered the green blob to stop a few inches from the core and slowly started to disolve.

"Try a fire arrow!" Dekaru yelled as he dove out of the way of a green tentacle.

Malon and Mikau shot off a fire arrow, followed by an ice arrow and a light arrow, but none had any effect.

"What are we going to do now?" Franklin asked.

"Shut up," Darmani shot back as he rolled away from another tentacle, "we're thinking."

"We need to get out of here," William said, "we can't beat that thing. That vulnerable core is too deep for us to hit."

"That's it," Franklin snapped his fingers, Darmani! That jar!"

"What jar?" William frowned.

"Dekaru! Cover me!" Darmani said as he help up the jar and turned the ring.

The inside of the jar turned into a vacuum and sucked everything in. Blobs of green slime, sucked from the monster, disappeared into the jar and slowly the core trembled and moved closer to the edge. Then, all of a sudden, the core bursted out, causing the green slime to fall back into the pond, and blocked the opening of the jar. The ring returned to it's previous position and the core fell to the ground. Slowly the core started rolling back to the pond. Dekaru jumped forward and slashed the core in half. The door opened itself as the slime in the pond evaporated.

"Good thinking," Mikau told Franklin, "maybe there's hope for you yet."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Franklin growled.

"Oh, lighten up," Darmani sighed, "it was a joke."

"Now, let's see what's behind the final door." Malon said as she held up the golden key, "I have a feeling we're close to the end."

With a small click the door opened.

-

Their first impression was that they were outside again. Or rather, that the outside had somehow found a way inside. While the floor and the ceiling were made of stone, and parts of the brick wall were still visible, leaves, white and blue flowers and vines were hanging from the walls. At the end of the hall a small altar was set up, and in front of it a large man in a tattered cape was standing, facing away from them.

"Ah," a hollow voice came, "finally some resistance. Even if they're only small childs."

Slowly the figure turned, grasping a white sword with a green hilt. His skin had a green hint and his eyes were black. The armour he wore seemed like bits of Moblin armour he put on at random, just to wear armour.

"Not only some resistance, but some old friends as well…" the man seemed to chuckle, a dead laugh, like it felt he had to do it like that but couldn't remember fully how to do it.

"Tellin?" Franklin's eyes grew wide, "is that you?"

The figure nodded.

"What happened to you?" Franklin asked, "and the others?"

"And my brother," William said, "what happened to Macleus?"

"We were chosen," Tellin said in his hollow voice, "chosen as the harbingers of Vaati. This…" he looked at his green hand with black fingernails, "is just temporary… it is a curse now, but once Vaati's powers have restored, it will be a blessing."

"Yeah, too bad you won't live long enough to see that day," Malon said and shot an arrow.

Tellin's arm moved in a blur and his sword snatched the arrow out of the air.

"Crap, that's fast." Malon whispered.

"I believe it's you that won't live long enough," Tellin grinned and slowly advanced, his sword raised.

"Come and get it, bastard," Dekaru gritted his teeth and held his shield up.

"No!" Franklin shouted, "this is a friend of us! He was in our group when we went up the mountain. I've known him all my life!"

"Not anymore," Darmani said, "he works for the bad side now, and I think we'll be doing him a favour if we kill him."

-

Darmani dashed forward and attacked Tellin, but Tellin simply parried the blow and hit Darmani in the stomach with his fist. The boy flew back against the wall. Before Tellin could strike, Mikau was at his brother's side to guard him. Malon shot a few more arrows which Tellin dodged, and Mikau and Darmani used the time to get some distance between them and Tellin. Tellin jumped towards them and Mikau was just able to fence off the blow, but he was still knocked down to his knees by the impact of the blow. Darmani struck out to defend his brother, but Tellin simply dodge his sword and kicked him in the side.

"Crap!" Darmani hissed, "that's twice now."

"Oh?" Tellin raised an eyebrow, "I thought it was the other one I had hit the first time. Well, you do look alike a lot."

"That's because they're twins," Dekaru replied as he sprung forward, only to meet Tellin's boot in his face.

"Next time, don't announce your attack like that," Tellin simply stated, "not that I wouldn't have known you were coming otherwise, but still, general advice in case you somehow manage to survive."

Just as he raised his sword, Malon shot another barrage of arrows. Tellin dodged them, and slashed the ones he couldn't dodge with his sword.

"You know," Tellin sighed, "you're becoming a nuisance. It's time I kill you all."

"Not if I can help it." Dekaru hissed.

"What did I just sa…" Tellin said as he turned back to face Dekaru, but a flash of light cut him off.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw Dekaru holding up his sword, a small stream of blood flowing down the blade. He looked down more and saw the sword had entered his throat. Tellin mouthed the words "how…" before he fell down, dropping the sword with an unusual loud clang when it hit the ground.

"Deku nuts, bitch," Dekaru said, "Hyrulian specialty."

-

"You killed him." Franklin said.

"Yep, but that was the point," Darmani nodded, "way to go, little brother."

"No…" Franklin shook his head, "you killed him. Tellin was our friend and you killed him."

"Tellin was gone," Malon replied, "you said he was trained, like you, to fight Vaati if he ever broke loose, so why would he side with him? Believe me, that may have looked like Tellin and sounded like him, but it wasn't him anymore."

"I… I understand," William nodded.

"You understand?" Franklin's eyes grew wide, "I can't believe you. You asshole! You're priceless, you know that?"

"Calm down, Franklin." William scolded him.

Franklin threw his arms in the air as he muttered, "unbelievable."

"So, now what?" Dekaru asked.

"You pick up the sword," a small voice came, "you've earned it."

They turned and saw two Minish crawl up the altar.

"Uhm, my skin won't turn green like that guy, right?" Dekaru hesitated.

"If you don't want it, I'll take it," Mikau said.

"No, it won't." one of the Minish shook his head, "You've defeated the one who unjustly took the sword, so you've earned the sword with the blessing of the Minish. Only the ones who don't receive the blessing of the Minish will fall under the same curse."

"On second thought," Mikau stepped back, "you take it."

"And it's the only thing that can lift the curse of the forest and bring the element of Earth and Life back to the shrine," the other Minish said and pointed to a black gem in the wall behind the altar, "you see, the gem of Earth still is clouded by Vaati's magic."

"Okay then," Dekaru sighed and picked up the sword.

The blackness on the gem seemed to crack and green light poured through it. Dekaru shielded his eyes with his hand as the bright light blinded him.

-

AN: Wow, second update in a week! The only reason for this is that I've made good progress with the story and my buffer is filled to the max (I'm writing chapter 20 now), so expect more midweek updates. Also, some time ago, I edited previous chapters because I wanted to make the kids younger, but now I've changed that again. For my plans in the future, they would have been too young to make it believable (as opposed to running around a fantasy world, fighting giant Chu-chu's and collecting magical swords).

And also there's one more thing I've missed so much, but never really realised. How the amount of chapters of my stories are also higher than the amount of reviews I've received. It seems I always get my reviews when I've stopped writing, and it's a theory I will test next week. I will give you one more week, and then I will only update when I receive a review (ooh, Afro-American man ( bad pun, which no one will get), also, that's updating twice a week when I get reviews, not one chapter for each review). I know, I'm a bastard…


	7. The Desert Flower

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 7 – The Desert Flower

-

Dekaru shielded his eyes with his hand as the bright light blinded him. After a few seconds, his eyes were adjusted enough to the desert sun after the long trip in the dark caves. The first thing he noticed was that the ledge of the cave went straight down for about twenty meters. He quickly scanned the sides of the mountain wall but saw no trace of his "prey". The wall seemed to steep to climb, so she could have only jumped down, but he saw no trace of a landing in the soft sand down the mountain. A loud yell suddenly made him look up and he barely could see a dark shape fall on top of him and causing him to fall down from the mountain. Luckily for him, the mountain wall went indeed straight down so they landed in the sand.

"ARE YOU INSANE?" he shouted after he spat out some sand and looked angrily at the laughing girl.

"Don't be such a crybaby, Dekaru," the young Gerudo girl said as she stretched, "it doesn't suit you."

"We could have died!"

"I know this mountain," the Gerudo shook her head, "I've been here countless times and other than the first time, I've always jumped down."

She looked around for a bit.

"Although, I must admit, I usually land a bit further."

"How did you get up there anyway?" Dekaru asked as he looked up to the dark cave, now seeming just a very dark shadow.

"I used my daggers to climb up. You remember my daggers, don't you?" the girl smiled.

"Yeah, I do," Dekaru said grim.

-

As Dekaru looked at the girl with a fierce look, he remembered the events, six years ago. His father and grandfather had gone in the Temple of Souls to fight some evil Zelda had unleashed. He and his brothers and sister had to remain outside, out of harm. And then this girl jumped on top of him with her daggers drawn. That was his first encounter with Romani, daughter of Nabooru, princess of the Gerudo. Well, now she was queen of the Gerudo, although she was only twelve, since the Gravedigger had killed her mother all those years ago. Her skin was the deep brown colour of the Gerudo, and her red hair was braided and hung down to her backside. Her green eyes looked seriously, as they always do, even when she laughed. Dekaru wondered if they had ever looked any different after that day her mother died, and if his looked the same.

-

"Anyway, how are we supposed to get up again?"

"I'm sure the other Gerudo will find us soon and let down a rope ladder."

"What?" Dekaru's eyes grew wide, "that could take hours, and we might die! We don't have any water!"

"Dekaru," Romani sighed, "I brought you out here to show you something, not to let you die. So why don't you just relax for a second and come with me?"

Dekaru grumbled as Romani turned around and started walking into the desert.

-

She stopped a few times to orientate herself and then headed towards a point along the mountain ridge.

"Couldn't we just have stayed near the mountain instead of going into the desert?" Dekaru asked.

"No," Romani replied, "our point of orientation isn't visible from too close the mountain. We need to be… ah, there it is… it's not far now."

Dekaru said some words his father wouldn't approve off if he had been still alive and continued to follow the girl.

-

After a short while Dekaru saw an oasis in the distance.

"There it is," Romani whispered, "what do you think?"

"It's… it seems big…"

"It is," Romani replied as she started running towards it, "it's the largest one in the area. You wouldn't believe the flowers and animals there are there."

"There are flowers and animals there?"

"Lots of them," she panted as she arrived at the edge of the oasis, "look!"

Dekaru stopped to catch his breath and saw a small brownish salamander flee under huge flower with red and blue petals.

"What is that flower?" Dekaru asked.

"That's the Desert Flower," Romani explained, "well, it has another name, but we all call it the Desert Flower because it only grows in the desert. There's a saying with the Gerudo, "a Gerudo only listens to the man who brings her a Desert Flower". Well, I thought it was just a saying. You know how men don't really have a lot to say in a relationship with a Gerudo… well, nothing at all actually. But apparently, when her love interest went into the desert and brought back a Desert Flower, a Gerudo woman would treat him as her equal and stop bossing him around, because he proved his worth."

"I never knew that." Dekaru said.

"Well, not a lot of people remember it," Romani shrugged, "the location of the oasis where they grew was lost somewhere in the past and it's only been recently rediscovered."

"Who discovered it? You?"

"Hah, I wish," Romani smiled but then turned serious again, "no, I found the oasis on my own too, but the one that rediscovered it was Ganondorf when he was about my age. It's hard to understand how someone so evil could find something as beautiful as this, I guess."

"When my dad came back to Hyrule," Dekaru said, "he told us that Ganondorf wasn't really evil… well, he was, but that it was because the Tri-Force made him evil, just like it made Zelda evil."

"Hmm… Still, all that is in the past and isn't important right now. Want to see the water spring?"

"There's a water spring?" Dekaru asked.

"Of course there's a spring. How else do you think the oasis got it's water?"

"I don't believe you," Dekaru shook his head, "show me."

"Did you hit your head on a rock or something when I jumped on you? Everyone knows an oasis has a water spring."

Romani took his arm and dragged him along, through the bushes and the trees, up to some rocks that looked over a large water spring.

"See?" Romani gestured over the water, "water spring."

"See?" Dekaru nodded, "payback."

Before Romani could even frown he pushed her off the rock.

-

"Help!" she shouted, "I can't swim!"

"Oh shit," Dekaru said as saw Romani go under again and dove in.

When he came above water again, he looked around to see the girl but couldn't find her.

"Romani!" he shouted, and prepared to dive under again.

"Here!" came the reply.

He turned around and saw her sitting on the edge of the spring, laughing.

"You little…" he started and swam towards her.

"Yeah, yeah," Romani sighed as she stretched and laid down, "you know you love me."

"Yeah, right," he muttered and sat next to the girl, trying to dry his green tunic in the sun.

He was hot. He should have worn something lighter, like Romani's purple pants and top. His heavy shirt was protective enough in the Lost Woods, but here in the desert Romani's see-through purple blouse was just perfect with this heat. Well, that was something to remember for the next time. Oh, he knew there would be a next time. As annoying as she could be sometimes, he enjoyed being around with her. He had once heard from Mikau and Darmani that their mother said she knew she had a crush on Link the moment she saw him the first time, when she was eight (he was too young when she was captured by Zelda). This must have been how she felt, he thought. He smiled at her and she returned his smile, but a sound made them look up. From out the bushes, two Gerudo emerged.

"Queen Romani?" they asked, "are you ready to leave?"

"Yes, I am," she told them before she turned to Dekaru, "so… are you leaving or will you stay now?"

"We're leaving again…" Dekaru had to admit, "We're going to go to Mendrova, on the other side of the desert. But don't worry, we'll take another route to get there."

"That'll be for the best, the desert can be a dangerous place. Just… promise you'll return, okay?"

"I promise…"

Oh, he would return here someday, that was for sure. And he would bring her a Desert Flower.


	8. The Wizard

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 8 – The Wizard

-

Dekaru blinked and looked at the sword in his hand. It felt natural and the white blade seemed to shine with an inner light, though it could have just been the light of the green gem behind the altar.

"Well, guess we did it," he said to no one in particular and looked around to the others.

"Now… didn't Lucy say something about a wizard in Pollykin?" Malon turned to William.

"That's right," he nodded, "she did. We better go get her and bring her back to Pollykin, then we can see why that wizard has come."

"If she's still alright," Franklin muttered as he started to walk to the exit.

"Oh ye of little faith," Mikau shook his head as he grinned.

-

When the youngsters stepped outside the shrine, they were surrounded by about nine Moblins. Everyone quickly drew their weapons, but the largest Moblin held up his hand.

"We mean you no harm," he said, "we just want to know where exactly we are."

"What?" Franklin frowned, "you don't know where you are? After all the villagers you've killed in the last couple of months?"

The Moblin shook his head.

"We only know we had to travel north and that's it. Everything after that is a haze."

"You were drawn here by the force of Vaati," Darmani said, "but now that his control over this area has broken, his spell on you has been lifted. Did you say you come from the south?"

"Indeed we do," the Moblin nodded, "guess we can return there now."

"Just don't…" Mikau turned to William and Franklin, "those other three area's Lucy mentioned, the lake, the mountains and the swamp, they're not to the south, are they?"

"No," William shook his head, "the lake is to the north, the mountains are in the northwest and the swamps to the west."

"Just don't go there then," Mikau continued, "head back south and you should be alright."

"We will…" the Moblin said, and then seemed to think of something, "this village you mentioned… an interesting place to raid?"

"Not for the moment, I imagine," Darmani shrugged.

"Then we'll come back in a few years," the Moblin grinned and turned around to leave with the others.

"What did you just say?" Franklin hissed, "did you just invite them to raid Pollykin in a few years?"

"That's what Moblins do," Darmani shrugged, "they raid. Very useful guys, those Moblins, they won't take on anything that's not worth fighting. The best line of defence, if you will, against the real strong monsters near villages."

"You guys are insane," Franklin shook his head and made his way to the horses.

-

They returned to their horses and rode on to the place where they left William's sister with the Minish.

"William!" she came running, "how did it go?"

"We won," William smiled as he hugged his sister, "the evil haunting the temple didn't stand a chance."

Franklin shook his head.

"You rather have she was worried?" Dekaru whispered to him.

"No," Franklin replied, "it's just… forget it, you don't know him. Let's just go back to Pollykin."

-

It was clear that Pollykin used to be a lot bigger, but now many houses on the outer side had been deserted or even demolished to build a large wooden wall to keep any dangers out. The villagers were happy to see William and Franklin return to Pollykin, and were very excited the Moblins wouldn't attack anymore from the forest and that everything would return to normal there.

"Great, now the lake and then we're completely safe," someone said in the crowd.

"It's really terrible, nine years ago the Black Death passes and now Vaati is loose," Malon heard someone else say, and couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

But then she remembered Kaepora's words, not everything is as it seems. It was possible Link had had a good reason to stop here, or maybe she just wanted to tell her that to ease her conscience, and he just passed here, leaving a trail of death in his wake. Either way, she shook these gloom thoughts away, it was something her father did a long time ago, it didn't concern her. She wasn't responsible for the things her father did.

-

"Out of the way! Make room!"

She looked up to what the commotion was and saw four guards, surrounding a tall young man with brownish hair and steel blue eyes, in a long red robe, coming closer. That must be that wizard, she thought.

"I'm glad you've come," the man told William and Franklin, "I am Mertok, and I've come from Mendrova city to aid you to stop Vaati. I believe that the monsters in the woods are somehow linked to Vaati and…"

"We know," William interrupted him, "we already stopped his agent in the woods and retrieved one of the Four Swords."

"Oh?" Mertok blinked, but quickly recomposed himself, "well, that's good… uhm… where is the sword?"

"I have it here," Dekaru said.

"Ah, good, can I have it?"

"No," Dekaru responded.

"No?" Mertok blinked again.

"No," Dekaru shook his head, "I was given the sword and I'll keep it until Vaati is defeated."

"And you think you can defeat Vaati?"

"Well, since I killed his agent, Te…"

"That's true," William interrupted him, "Dekaru is the one who struck the killing blow. But it was a terrible fight and we all had to push to our limits."

A few girls giggled when William proudly looked around him, and Malon couldn't help but chuckle when the blonde boy looked at her and winked. Franklin just shook his head.

"Yes," Darmani continued, "and we'll go to the lake now to see what we can do there."

"Well," Mertok said, "in that case, I'll go with you. I was send here to help the two remaining soldiers of Caleb to do their job, so that's what I'll do."

"Fine by me," Mikau nodded, "the more the merrier. But mind if we get some supplies first? And eat of course, I'm famished."

Mertok nodded and gave orders to prepare a meal for the heroes.

-

"Hope you didn't mind I exaggerated my part a bit?" William asked Malon as they were going to the inn, "I mean, I come from this village and I really want them to be proud of me."

"Sure, no problem," she smiled, "I know our style can be pretty overwhelming at first, but when you're used to it, I'm sure you'll fit right in and then you can tell how it really went… And how you saved the day," she added.

William shyly smiled at this and nodded.

"Rest assured, I'll fight valiantly by your side."

-

After a large meal and restocking their arrows and rations, they decided to leave the first thing tomorrow to the lakes. Mertok didn't know exactly what was going on there, other than the whole lake had frozen over. There were tales of ice monsters roaming the lands, as well as wizard-like creatures. Tales probably exaggerated by superstitious locals, though Mertok did think the wizard-like creatures were a possibility since the same tales came from the mountains. Either way, they would find out the next day when they reached the lake.

-

AN: Damn, I was sure the previous chapter would get a reaction in the style of "uhm, I'm confused now, what's going on?" but either you all got that, or just didn't care. Either way, I'm going to slow down updates a bit, not because I don't have time to write new chapters, but because I don't seem to get any response. Sure, according to the hits in my stats page, people are reading it, but either new reviews don't show up, or people aren't reviewing. So I'll make you a deal, you review, and I'll post a new chapter every week (or maybe even twice a week). I know, it's blackmail, and I hate resorting to it, but (even after all this time) I still hate the fact that I see stories with about 5 chapters and 35 reviews and that this story hasn't gotten a new review since I started updating again. And I just don't get it, amongst the reviews for PH were things like "you're amongst the best Zelda-authors on this site", "this story kicks ass" and the inevitable "update soon or I'll hunt you down!" Did my writing style start to suck so much during my off time?

Wow, somehow this turned into a rant along the way, my apologies. Anyway, review and let me know what you think of the story, so I know if I still have to keep going or not.


	9. Lake Talus

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 9 – Lake Talus

-

It was indeed early when Dekaru was packing his horse, while the others were inside, gathering their belongings.

"So, you gonna keep that stick?"

Dekaru looked up and saw Franklin standing in the doorway.

"Now that you got yourself a new sword," Franklin repeated, "are you gonna keep that little stick?"

"Of course I will," Dekaru grinned, "you never know when I need to kick your ass again."

"Why you little…" Franklin scowled, "you got lucky that time."

"Yeah, right," Dekaru ignored him and continued packing.

"You little…" Franklin said again as he drew his sword.

"You already said that," Dekaru turned around and drew his Deku stick.

Franklin attacked Dekaru but the young boy parried the blow. In a fluent motion he twirled the staff around and hit Franklin on the side of his head. Franklin went down hard.

"Got enough?" Dekaru simply asked as William emerged from the inn.

"Man," Franklin said as he got up, "what kind of wood is that?"

"Wood from the Deku tree," Dekaru shrugged, "around a metal bar."

"What? No wonder you hit so hard."

"You got your ass kicked again?" William grinned.

"Shut up," Franklin spat.

"You know, it's one thing to pick on little boys, but it's another to get beaten by them. Or is that what they did on the farm?"

"Whatever," Franklin shook his head, "you ready to go?"

"Can't we have breakfast first?" William asked as he tilted his head a bit.

"We already ate," Dekaru replied, "we were waiting for you."

"You can eat on the way," Franklin said as he went to find his horse.

"On the way?" William's eyes grew wide, "you're kidding, right?"

"Well," Malon said, as she came out of the inn with a full saddlebag, "I'm sure we can wait another half hour before we leave."

-

Two hours later, they had left the village and headed east towards Lake Talus. This was the place the river Hylia (renamed Talus in Mendrova) ended. After a short travel, they already experienced a serious drop in temperature and as they drew closer to the lake, they started to see frost on the grass and trees. When they finally reached the frozen lake, the lands were covered in a thick layer of snow.

"You can tell this ice is unnatural," Mertok said to no one in particular, "you can feel the evil magic in the air."

"You can also tell it's unnatural since the lake only freezes in very cold winters, and even then only a small layer, and it's the middle of summer," Franklin whispered, which caused Dekaru to grin.

"By the way," Dekaru whispered to Franklin when he rode next to him, "what was that about the farm?"

"Hmm?" Franklin looked up and then glanced to William who was talking to Malon, "oh, I grew up on a farm, and only got chosen by Caleb to be trained thanks to William and Macleus, his brother. They were the sons of an officer of the Mendrova army, just like the others Caleb trained. I was the only one who didn't have a military past, so to speak."

"That doesn't make you any less," Dekaru shook his head, "my mother was brought up on a farm too, and she became one of the best swordfighters of Hyrule and Termina."

"What was that?" Mikau suddenly asked.

"What was what?" his twin brother asked.

"I thought I saw something over there," Mikau responded as he pointed over the ice plain.

"Near that big boulder?" Malon asked.

"Yeah… there it is!" he shouted.

-

A figure with a large hat suddenly materialised not far from them and extended his hands. A large blue blast came rushing Mikau's way. Mikau quickly dodged out of the way and the blast hit a tree which it completely froze and shattered. The figure was gone when he got up again.

"A Wizrobe," Mertok said, "it's the shadow, if you will, of a long dead wizard. Remnants of their power start a life of their own and manifest themselves as Wizrobes."

"Can we kill it?" Mikau asked as he drew his bow.

"I don't know," Mertok admitted, "I don't think there's ever been a record of…"

"Never mind," Mikau interrupted the wizard as he shot an arrow at the reappeared Wizrobe, hitting it right under the hat, causing it to fall over and burst into blue flames, "I already know."

Mertok blinked a couple of times as he tried to process what exactly happened.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"Did what work?" Darmani frowned.

"Well, uhm," Mertok tried to think which one of the two had just shot (how was it possible to keep the two apart?), "your brother shot the evil spirit… is the lake defrosting yet?"

"Uhm," Darmani started as suddenly something dawned to him, "what exactly do you know of Vaati and the troubles here?"

"Well," Mertok shrugged, "Vaati is somehow controlling the changes in the four corners of Mendrova, and the Veil mountain too, of course, and drains power from it. And if we eliminate his agent here, he loses his power over the area and weakens himself."

"Okay," Mikau shook his head, "we should have told this yesterday but we just assumed you already knew this. Every of the four corners has a shrine, dedicated to one of the four elements that empowered the Four Swords. Vaati has somehow taken control of the four men who pulled out the swords of his final resting place and each of them has returned to the shrine to give Vaati power."

"And that's the guy we need to kill," Darmani continued, "the one who wields one of the Four Swords and who resides in the temple."

"Wait," Mertok blinked again, "are you saying that the men of Caleb are in fact…"

"The evil guys, yes," Mikau nodded, "because of Vaati. Now, do you know where the shrine is?"

"No," Mertok shook his head, "I have no idea."

"We used to come here running laps around the lake in our training," Franklin said, "and we never found a shrine or a cave or something like that. But there is an island at the middle of the lake…"

Mikau looked at Darmani who shrugged.

"Worth a shot, don't you think?"

-

Slowly they advanced their way over the ice, dispatching of a few more Wizrobes along the way, until they finally reached the small island in the middle of the lake. Nothing much was on it, except a few trees and a large rock. On the southside of the rock, an old doorway was found with a simple drawing of an water drop almost worn out by erosion of the wind.

"Here we are," Dekaru said as he drew his sword, "is everyone ready?"

"I'm not coming along," Franklin said.

"You scared ?" Mikau asked.

"No," Franklin shook his head, "it's just… one of our friends, or rather someone who used to be our friend, is in there. It was hard enough to see Dekaru kill Tellin. I know it wasn't him anymore, but that still doesn't change the fact…"

"I know what you mean," Darmani nodded, "fine, you stay here and guard the entrance with William and Mertok. Just be careful for more Wizrobes."

"Don't worry about us," William assured Darmani, "we've got a bow handy."

"Good," Mikau nodded, "let's go then."

And with that, the four kids entered the Water Shrine.

-

AN: I didn't plan this little update today (since I haven't gotten any reviews yet), but I'd thought it'd be only fair I let you know that there won't be a next part in this series. As I was writing a new chapter, the electricity went down before I had a chance to save. While I was twiddling my thumbs for an hour (okay, playing my GBA) in the dark, waiting for the power to come back, I decided to take this as a sign from God (which is odd since I'm an atheist). When this story is finished, I'll probably will stop with the series, and maybe focus on something else (I still got the start of a Mega Man and a Black Adder fic on my hard drive, as well as some ideas in my mind for the original Legend of Zelda, and no, I don't mean OoT).

After all, why would I bother with this series? According to the amount of reviews I get, no one is reading this. Come on, people, review and make me change my mind about the fate of the Professional Hero series. I want to set all my ideas on paper, and I want it to be appreciated.

Oh, right, the original name for the lake was of course Hylia, but since this isn't Hyrule, I had to rename it. And since one of the bosses in the Four Swords is called Talus (the water one if I'm not mistaken), the choice was easily made.


	10. The Water Shrine

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 10 – The Water Shrine

-

A dark stair lead downwards, leading to a large room deep under the lake. The room was chilly, but not so cold as above ground. At the end of the room was a small staircase leading upwards to a locked door, and two other doors on the side, just like the first shrine.

"We split up again?" Dekaru asked.

"Not this time," Darmani nodded his head, "I think it's best we stick together this time. We got lucky in the Forest Shrine. So, it's best we don't take any chances this time."

They decided to take the left door first and opened it to reveal a long corridor. Several Kees were visible in the light of the lit torches on the side. Malon and Mikau quickly dispatched of them with their bows and arrows and continued on. The next room was a round room, with water dripping form the ceiling. They noticed that the ground consisted of wet dirt instead of stone tiles. Nothing was seen other than a large brazier in the middle, burning with a bright flame and a small chest on the other side of the room.

-

No one even flinched when the door slammed shut, but they quickly jumped out of the way when the dirt suddenly trembled and a large worm-like creature emerged from the ground. It let out an unworldly roar and focussed on the closest opponent available. With a speed that was unexpected for such a large foe, it plunged itself towards Darmani. The young man quickly reacted and struck his sword forward before he jumped out of the way. His sword struck the worm on the head and it started to shake his head for a while, leaving it's tail unprotected. Mikau charged and hit the worm in the tail section. As soon as Mikau hit the tail, the worm dashed forward with a speed which made it's previous movements look like they were slow. Dekaru was too late to jump out of the way and was slammed into the wall. Malon shot a couple of arrows to draw it's attention away from her fallen brother. This worked and the worm attacked her, again at it's previous speed. While Mikau rushed to his youngest brother, Malon rolled out of the way from the large monster.

"You okay?" Mikau asked as he helped Dekaru up.

"Yeah," Dekaru panted, "just got the wind knocked out of me. I didn't expect it to move that fast."

"Neither did I," Mikau responed, looking back at the worm, "just get ready to get out of the way. Malon just hit it again."

"Oh no," Dekaru gritted his teeth as he jumped up, "not this time. This time the bastard is mine."

He ran towards the monster and let the Sword of Light come down hard on the tail. The monster roared again and turned his head to his attacker. Dekaru just twirled around and slashed the head in two in a swift motion. It fell down lifeless, with just some spasms of it's tail. When the door slid open again, they knew the monster was dead.

"Nice job," Darmani patted him on the back.

"Thanks," Dekaru grinned as he sat down to catch his breath, "what's in the chest?"

"A key," responded Malon, "so, what do we do? Take the locked door or go to the right first?"

"Well, since we found a key on both sides last time, let's try the right one first," Mikau replied.

-

They found a staircase leading up, and the air slowly turned colder. When they finally got into a room, ice had formed on the ground. Several ice blocks were laying around the room, a large one standing at the end. Between the ice blocks, a large red creature was seen, walking on it's hind legs but with a large metal mask with spikes on it's face. Malon shot an arrow at it, but the mask deflected the arrow. It came running towards Malon and she was just in time to jump out of the way and avoid the sharp spikes. Darmani landed a hard blow on the creature, but the mask protected it, acting as an armour. Dekaru had no luck with his sword either and both had to roll out of the way before they were pierced by the spikes. Mikau tried to attack it from behind, but it quickly spun around and retreated behind an ice block.

"How are we going to get a hold of this one?" he said.

"No idea," Malon replied, "he's fast and we can't get behind him to attack him from the rear."

"Wait a sec," Darmani grinned and got out the jar he had found in the Forest Shrine.

He jumped in front of the creature and turned the ring. A vacuum was created in the jar and air got sucked in. The mask trembled and suddenly flew towards the opening of the jar, blocking it. The jar deactivated itself and the mask fell to the ground. The creature, realising it lost it's protection, squeaked and tried to run away, but Mikau jumped after it and slashed it in two with his sword.

"We got it!" he yelled out, "good thinking, brother."

"Anytime," Darmani grinned.

"Uhm, guys?" Dekaru said, "I think we have a problem."

He pointed towards the large ice cube, where now clearly a chest was seen in the middle.

"Depends what you call a problem," Malon said as she powered a fire arrow.

Just as she let go off it, a drop of water fell down from the ceiling, putting the fire arrow out.

"What the…"

She tried again, now standing right next to it, but again a drop of water fell down, extinguishing the fire arrow.

"Okay, this isn't working," she sighed, "there's got to be a way."

"We'll think off something," Mikau shrugged, "maybe we'll find it behind the locked door. Remember, dad said he had to backtrack a lot in the temples in Hyrule too."

"Could be," Malon admitted, "well, there's only one way to find that out, right?"

-

"There he is! To the left!"

William ducked down and turned to his left. He saw the Wizrobe slowly advancing and shot his bow. Before the arrow hit, however, the Wizrobe disappeared.

"Nice going, William," Franklin growled as he scanned the area again for the Wizrobe.

"Hey, I'm just trying to stay alive here!" William shot back.

"Of course, you haven't gotten in Malon's pants yet."

"Hey! That's uncalled for, farm boy! I really like that girl."

"Gentlemen?" Mertok interrupted them while making some gestures with his arms.

His hands crackled with the flow of bright magic and he fired off an orb of light that hit the Wizrobe right in the centre.

"Maybe we can hold this discussion on a later time?"

Franklin grumbled and started to scan the area again. William simply sighed and sat down next to the fire. He really hoped Mallon would come back soon.

-

Slowly the door opened, revealing a round staircase leading up. With their bows ready, the teens advanced upwards. It seemed the staircase was going higher than they've gone before, and they wondered just how deep they were for the moment. Just as Dekaru was sure they'd end up above ground again, they arrived in a large room, similar to the one they had just been too, except there were more blocks of ice scattered in the room. Darmani involuntarily gulped when he saw that inside some ice blocks there were people, or at least parts of them.

"I saw something move," Mikau said, "but it's not there anymore…"

"What was it?" Darmani asked as he readied his sword.

"LOOK OUT!" Dekaru yelled as he suddenly tackled Darmani from behind.

A large blue bolt of crackling energy shot past the place where Darmani was just a second ago and hit an ice block, freezing a new layer on it. The Wizrobe cackled while it dematerialised again.

"Now we know what Mikau saw," Dekaru sighed.

"Will you get off of me?" Darmani told his younger brother, "the floor is really cold."

"I see him! Malon?" Mikau shouted.

Malon shot her arrow, but the Wizrobe vanished again, to reappear near Darmani and Dekaru. Darmani attacked, while Dekaru ran to the other side of the room. The Wizrobe laughed while it disappeared again before Darmani's sword hit, but shrieked when Dekaru struck it on the other side of the room.

"Smart thinking," Mikau complimented him.

"Hey," Dekaru shrugged, "Darmani isn't the only one with bright ideas."

"What do you mean?" Darmani raised an eyebrow, "I told you to do that when you helped me up!"

"Yeah, right," Dekaru laughed.

-

"Guys? There's a chest here without any ice around it," Mikau said from the far end of the room.

"Open it," Darmani told his twin brother as he stood next to him.

Mikau opened the chest and looked inside.

"It's a lantern," Darmani said.

"And it's burning…" Mikau added as he got the bright red lantern out.

"There seems to be a small tube here and a button on the other side," he said after closer inspection, "I wonder what it…"

A large fireball coming from the tube of the lantern cut him short.

"Okay," Darmani replied, "that was awesome."

"Now we know why there wasn't any ice around this chest." Malon whistled.

"We can use it to defrost that ice around the chest in the other room," Mikau said.

"Then what?" Darmani asked, "I think we ran out of doors. We got no where else to go."

"Actually…" Dekaru said to get the attention of his brothers and sister, "there seems to be a doorway behind this block of ice…"

-

All four kids had decided to check the contents of that chest, after they realized how cold the room was when Mikau had left with the lantern. It was clear it was best they kept moving or they might freeze to death. Malon's suggestion to check on the others (and especially William) was shot down, though. The faster they got to the end, Mikau reasoned, the faster they got to the end. And since Darmani didn't argue with that logic, they returned to melt the huge ice boulder blocking the doorway.

-

AN: Well, a promise is a promise. I got a review, you get an update. Thanks, Dra Gan for letting me know you still like my stuff. So, what do you others think? Do you still like Link's kids? Should I make Mertok a nephew of the kids (after all, Link's father, Madakar was absent for many years too)? Should I make William the reincarnation of Link or (even better!) Ganondorf? Do you want me to throw Franklin off a cliff? In other words, what do you think of the other characters, since (I'll give a little spoiler to make you interested) I plan on bringing some of the characters the kids meet in this story return later in the series (but of course I'm not telling who and how many… I'd rather have you speculate).


	11. The Second Element

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

AN: Viva la revolución! We have overthrown the capitalist government of Marekar and now the peasants will be free! Viva la república Mendrova!

-

Chapter 11 – The Second Element

-

When they stepped into the dark corridor, they could hear water dripping in the distance. Slowly they made their way through the darkness until they reached a bright lit area. The room, however was flooded, due to the water falling down from the ceiling in steady drops. The only thing that wasn't under water was a small ledge on their side and on the other side where a door with a big golden lock was, and the stone bridge that connected the two doors. The only problem was that there was a big gap in the bridge.

"What's the catch?" Darmani asked his brothers, "there's got to be a catch, so what is it?"

"The water isn't frozen," Mikau noticed, "though it's as cold in here as the other room, so my guess is something in the water."

Dekaru set a foot on the bridge and suddenly a big purple Octorock jumped out of the water, where the gap in the bridge was, and shot a boulder out of it's huge mouth. Dekaru quickly hit behind his shield but was thrown back by the shot. The Octorock hid in the water again.

"Guys? I think I know what the catch is," Mikau grinned.

"Congratulations," Darmani patted him on the back, "and for that you can act as bait."

"You're not going to do that to your own brother, are you?" Mikau gulped.

"Just keep your shield ready and you won't get harmed." Darmani assured him as he got his bow out.

Mikau sighed, readied his sword and shield and set a foot on the stone bridge. The Octorock jumped out, and immediately Darmani, Malon and Dekaru fired their bows. The Octorock shrieked out and while it tried to get under again, Mikau had reached it and stuck his sword in the creature's eye. It let out a roar and dove under again, colouring the water red with it's blood.

"We got it," Mikau said and jumped the gap, "let's get on and get the second sword."

-

The hall was similar to the one in the first shrine. Long and wide, with an altar at the end, with behind it a black stone in the wall. But instead of vines growing at the side, it was like water had been flowing down and then had frozen. In front of the altar was a young man standing, his skin pale and glistening, like frost had formed on his face, and his eyes pitch black. In his clenched fist he held a white sword with a blue hilt.

"I didn't think anyone would be so foolish to try and best me," his hollow voice said, but suddenly his eyes narrowed on Dekaru, or rather his sword, "that sword… that's Tellin's sword."

"It's mine now," Dekaru said as he raised it, "I killed him and the Minish gave me the sword as a reward."

"You lie! No one can beat us!"

"Wanna bet?" Mikau grinned, "just which one of the remaining three are you?"

"Yes," the man said, "I think it's only fair you know the name of your executioner. It's Freykon, and now you'll die!"

-

With great speed he leaped forward and quickly covered the distance between him and Dekaru. The young boy had to use all his skill to parry the blows, and Mikau's help seemed to no avail. Freykon just dodged Mikau's blows and kept on attacking Dekaru. Darmani tried to attack, but Freykon's fist hit him straight on the chin and send him flying back. Malon took his place, but Freykon was able to fence off her blows as well. Suddenly Freykon attacked Dekaru, who rolled out of the way just in time. The gap created was soon filled up by Darmani, but Freykon just kept on dodging blows and parrying strikes like nothing had changed. This guy was tough, Mikau thought, he was being attacked from three sides, and still he didn't break a sweat or make a mistake. A sudden kick from Freykon send Malon tumbling back, and Dekaru took her place, restarting his previous onslaught of blows. Freykon just laughed as he ducked below a swing and head-butted Darmani. Malon jumped before Freykon but was stopped at each blow. Mikau suddenly saw an opening which he took, but Freykon just swirled around and planted his sword deep in the chest of the boy.

"So… cold…" the boy gasped as he fell down.

"Fool," he laughed, "any decent swordfighter would have known that was a trap."

Freykin stepped over Mikau's body to attack the others again, who had watched in horror. Suddenly he saw them grin.

"I knew," he heard someone say behind him, "but tell me, you ever heard of the healing power of fairies?"

Freykon turned around, only to meet a sword deep in his chest, the same place he had just hit Mikau.

"I… thought the fairies… were just… legend…" he whispered to Mikau as life drained away from them, "after all… I've been through… I should have… known… bette…"

He dropped the sword and fell to Mikau's feet. Mikau touched the white skin that was visible under his torn tunic, and silently thanked his father for his advice.

"So," he said as he looked down at the sword, "do I take it or do we wait for any Minish to show up?"

"You can take it," a voice from the altar came.

On the alter two Minish were standing. Mikau was unable to say if it were the same as the Forest Shrine or if it were two others, but he reached down and took the sword. The black stone behind the altar slowly turned blue and started shining, while the ice melted and water started flowing again. Mikau watched the water splash around and turned around.

-

AN: First thing's first, Marekar is no more… after some research in Professional Hero (yes, from time to time I have to reread it to check timelines, events, characters and all that so I don't mess up here) I noticed the grandfather of the kids is named Madakar and that's only two letters different than the name of this country. So I either change an old story to fit the guy a new name, or I change the one I'm writing now and have easier access to. And that's the story on how Marekar was changed into Mendrova (which I think is a better name anyway).

Right, second of all (I knew there was a second), this chapter is a bit shorter than the others (if I'm not mistaken) because I didn't really had anything else to add. I mean, in other boss-fights, the kids first have a hard time dealing with though guardian, but here's it's a bleeping octorock for crying out loud. But I will make it up to you by making the rest of the story even more kick ass with some nice twists.

Keep reading and reviewing.


	12. Great Bay

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 12 – Great Bay

-

Mikau watched the water splash around and turned around.

"Man, I just love the ocean," he said.

"Best thing there is in the world," the zora behind him laughed.

Mikau walked up to the beach of the Great Bay again and sat down in the sand to look over the ocean again. It was hard to believe that under all that water there lived a whole civilisation of people. And maybe now it was the only place they lived.

"Say, Mikau?" the boy asked.

"Yeah?" the Zora answered as he sat down next to the young boy.

"My dad…" Mikau started but didn't really know how to continue, "well, he… a couple of years ago… when he was still the Black Death I mean…"

"Those Zora he killed near Labrynna?" Mikau-Zora asked.

"Yeah," Mikau silently said as his head dropped, "those…"

"Forget about them," Mikau-Zora shrugged, "those fu… those fish-faces had chosen the bad side. I mean, siding up with Zelda was bad enough, but they terrorized and killed innocent people. It's a good thing your father was there, because I don't know if we would have been able to stop them."

"You see?" Mikau-Zora continued as he got up to stretch his back, "we sorta have the same code the Gorons have. Well, the Gorons of Death Mountain, anyway. We don't kill other Zora. And we don't know if they had the same attitude, you know? For all we know, if it wasn't for your father, they could have come over to here after they were done in Labrynna and killed us all without us being able to fight back. Or at least not in the beginning. I swear, if anyone would harm one of my sisters, be they Zora or not, I'd fu… I'd totally kill them."

"Yeah," Mikau responed, "but he also killed innocents."

-

"That's true," Mikau-Zora sighed, "but listen, I'm not gonna say your father and me go way back, because that's not entirely true. But he saved not only my life, but also the life of my brother and sisters. He rescued mom's eggs and gave us our life. And I'm grateful for that. Hell, mom even called my brother after him. And maybe to repay him or something, we just tried to do our best to help him in some way, or maybe that's just the effect of the blood of Zora heroes in our blood, I don't know. But bottom line is… damn, I forgot my point."

"I think it's," Mikau thought a bit, "he showed you that you must do what you can to save those you don't know, but be relentless when those you love and care about are hurt."

"Right, I guess," Mikau-Zora shrugged, "I mean, Link-Goro was the same. He was fighting on our side against the Snowhead Gorons, though he vowed not to take another Goron's life. But when that motherf… uhm, Mashka killed Terrani, Link's little brother, he went beserk and pounded his face in. Your father was just the same, he fought the bad guys to save everyone, but lost it when he thought you, your brothers and sister and your mother was dead."

Mikau just nodded and suddenly looked up to the old Gerudo fortress. Several ships were docked there and a lot people were dragging packs on and off the ships.

-

"What's that over there?" he asked.

"Hmm?" the Zora followed his gaze, "oh, that. Well, some time ago, after Clocktown was rebuild, they set up a trading post near the Gerudo Fortress to start a trading route with Labrynna and some islands. And when news of the demise of the Gerudo got to Ashra, she came back too."

"Who's Ashra?"

"Ashra…" Zora sighed, "your dad ever told you what happened here at Great Bay when he was here?"

"Just that he snuck into the Gerudo fortress to get Lulu's eggs," Mikau admitted, "and then made his way to the temple after a visit to the Zora hall."

"Well, the Gerudo were also interested in the Water Temple," Mikau-Zora explained, "but they couldn't reach it. The captain who was responsible for that failed expedition was banished by the Gerudo queen, so she left, along with her daughter, Ashra. She sailed the sea and broke the ancient Gerudo code by taking men as her crew. She became a renegade pirate and was, well, is feared all over the ocean, though she's pretty fair. She gives each trader a choice, either pay a fee, or be plundered by them."

"I've heard from Dekaru that the Gerudo in Hyrule use the same method," Mikau grinned.

"Anyway," Mikau-Zora continued and pointed towards a ship in the distance, sailing with a black flag, "when Ashra heard that the Great Bay Gerudo were dead, she came back with her crew and her daughter, and proposed a deal with the Clocktown traders. She gives them a special discount and she makes sure their ships have a safe passage to Labrynna. She then turned the Gerudo Fortress into her steady base of operations. Hey, stick around for awhile and maybe I'll introduce you to her daughter. She's really a kid with spunk."

"Maybe later, Mikau," the boy stood up, "we should be going soon. The family curse, you know, can't stay around for too long."

"Yeah, just promise you'll stop by sometime."

"I promise," Mikau grinned, "you know I owe you and your brother too much to simply forget you."

"Good luck, little buddy," Mikau-Zora patted the boy on the back, "just make your parents proud, okay?"

"I pray every day that I do," Mikau nodded.

-

AN: Another short chapter, I know. I wanted to make it longer, but I couldn't seem to find the right stuff to flesh it out. Somewhere along the way (as Mikau-zora said) I forgot my point. Anyway, hope you still like it and it gives you a bit more insight on what the kids did during the time between Professional Hero and the Four Swords.


	13. Mendrova City

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 13 – Mendrova City

-

Mikau looked at the blade of his sword, and saw frost was forming on it. He slowly slid the magical sword in the sheath on his back and looked at his brothers and sister.

"Well," he said, "guess we're halfway there."

"Indeed," Darmani nodded, "but I have a feeling the last two will be the most dangerous."

"Nothing we won't be able to handle," Malon shrugged, "I hope."

"Let's get out of here, then," Dekaru added, "and see how the others are doing outside."

-

After a long climb up the stairs, the kids finally got above ground again. William, Franklin and Mertok were waiting next to a fire near the entrance. The lake had defrosted and now was filled with blue water instead of ice.

"I see you managed to beat Vaati's agent," Mertok said as he looked over the lake.

"We did," Malon said, "how did things go here?"

"Some Wizrobes popped up," William told Malon, "but Mertok and I were able to hold them back."

"You weren't able to help?" Dekaru asked Franklin.

"I was a forced lookout," Franklin shrugged, who didn't seem to want to get into it.

"Forced?" Mikau insisted.

"William didn't want to give me the bow."

"Guess he knew your worth." Dekaru grinned.

"That's it, you little…" Franklin drew his sword, "get ready before I cut you down to size."

Dekaru quickly got his Deku stick out and was able to block Franklin's first blow. He swung the stick, but Franklin caught it with his sword and kicked the boy. Dekaru just did a backflip and thrust forward. Franklin, just a second to late to parry, was hit in the chest and flew back. Heavily panting he got up.

"Had enough?" Dekaru asked.

"Not nearly," Franklin growled as he spat out some blood.

"This isn't the time," William interrupted them, "we have to find a way off this island, now that it's defrosted."

"I saw a boat on the shore when we walked the ice," Mikau said, "you two can continue your little fight as Darmani and me go get it."

"How are you going to get it?" Mertok frowned as William charged Dekaru again.

Darmani and Mikau didn't reply but simply jumped into the water and started swimming towards the shore.

"Ah," Mertok simply said.

-

Two hours (and a severe punishment for Franklin from Dekaru) later, the boys were on their way to back to Pollykin. They would spend the night there and then move on to Mendrova City. Mertok had told them that Crenel Mountain, where the volcano had erupted, was on the other side of the land and that they could stop there for a while so he could report back to his superiors. After a night of celebrations that the lake was back to normal again, the kids left for Mendrova City. They just made a small stop when Dekaru spotted a fairy spring, which gave Mikau the opportunity to replace the fairy he had used with Freykon. When Darmani told the others the powers of the fairies, Franklin and William quickly captured some too. Finally, after some hours of travel, they reached the capital of Mendrova.

-

The city was surrounded by a thick and high stone wall, that had clearly been there for some time. Mikau looked suspiciously at the walls but made no comment. Just like Pollykin, it seemed the city was too big for the people living in it, but that wasn't so surprising if the Black Death passed here. Mertok led them to a great square in the middle of the city.

"I must now go to my superiors in the castle," he said, pointing to a large building at the north of the city, "we will meet here again this evening. I will try to make sure you have a place to stay in the castle for tonight."

"Thanks a lot, Mertok," Darmani smiled, "we'll see you tonight then."

"So," Mikau said as Mertok rode off, "what do we do now?"

"We go sight-seeing," Darmani replied, "I want to know a bit more about the city."

"I'm afraid I can't help you," William turned to Malon, "I haven't been here since my childhood. Caleb trained us in Pollykin."

"That's alright," she smiled at him, "I'm sure we'll find someone who can tell us something about the history of Mendrova somewhere."

"Okay then," Darmani nodded, "let's split up and we'll meet up in that tavern over there in a couple of hours. I'll go west."

-

Several hours later, Mikau entered the tavern, and spotted Darmani, Dekaru and Franklin sitting at a table near the back. He quickly made his way to the table through the crowded tavern, dodging customers along the way. Just as he sat down, the waitress put down a jug of milk in front of him.

"Where's Malon?" Mikau asked, as he threw some rupees on the table.

"Still out with William," Darmani answered.

"No surprise there," Franklin muttered.

"Anyway," Dekaru said after putting his jug down, "Franklin and I made some money in the eastern district."

"Oh?" Mikau raised an eyebrow, "how?"

"Well," Franklin admitted, "actually it was Dekaru who did most of the work."

"True," Dekaru shrugged, "but you came up with the idea. We offered a money price of 100 rupees for anyone who could beat me with a Deku stick. Of course, they had to pay an entrée fee of 10 rupees."

"How much did you make?" Mikau asked.

"235," Franklin said as he threw a purse on the table, "there were two guys who wanted to fight him at the same time, so I made them pay 25 instead."

"So that's 23 opponents," Darmani whistled, "not bad."

"Actually, just 18," Dekaru said, "Franklin replaced me a few times, and with good success too."

"Anyway," Mikau said, "did you guys found anything out?"

"Well," Darmani wiped his mouth after a drink from his jug, "the Black Death passed here too, but he didn't come from the west side."

"Nor from the east side," Dekaru added.

"That's strange," Mikau frowned, "he didn't come from the south side either. But according to the people I talked to, he appeared in the south section of the city."

"How do you know that?" Franklin asked.

"All the wall were intact," Mikau explained, "the Black Death leaves destruction in his wake, so stone walls don't stop him. And considering how high the walls are, he had to bring them down to pass. But not even the gates have been replaced in the last 50 years, if not longer."

"I see," Franklin nodded, "so if he appeared in the south part, but not through the walls, how did he get in?"

"I don't know," Malon said as she sat down, followed by William, "maybe a secret passage? The walls on the north side were all intact, though the castle was heavily damaged."

"Well, this is strange…" Darmani frowned, "but not important right now."

"There is something else that might be important," Malon said as she paid for her jug of milk, "at the entrance of the castle is a white and blue shield with three golden triangles on it."

Mikau and Darmani glanced at each other for a moment. A glance Franklin noticed, but he didn't get into it.

"What's so important about that?" William asked, "I mean, there was a shield like that in the cave where Vaati was."

"It's not important now," Darmani shook his head, "not anymore, anyway. Did anyone found anything out about Crenel Mountain?"

"Yeah," Mikau said, "I spoke with some miners who worked there, and according to them Gleerok returned."

"What is a Gleerok?" Dekaru frowned.

"I don't know, but it's some sort of mystical dragon type kinda thing," Mikau tried to explain, "details were kinda hazy."

"And for the rest, the volcano erupted and there are Wizrobes there," Malon shrugged, "but we already knew that from Mertok."

"Speaking of which," Darmani put down his empty jug, "we better go see if he's already on the square. It's getting dark."

The youngsters emptied their drinks and headed for the door.

-

"You know?" Franklin whispered to William, "I can't believe you. Do you even know how old she is? She's sixteen, for crying out loud!"

"What's your problem anyway?" William asked, "you jealous?"

"Just…" Franklin shook his head as he got up, "shut up, okay?"

"Man, I can't believe you can drink this," William put down his full jug of milk, "milk, for crying out loud."

"It's from my dad's farm," Franklin said with a hint of sadness in his voice, "still, we better get going. I still think we got to keep an eye on them. There's still something I don't trust them about."

"Whatever," William shrugged, "but you're right, I can't keep Malon waiting."

-

"So, you had fun with William?" Darmani whispered.

"Shut up," Malon shot back, "we just snooped around a bit."

"I'm not saying you didn't," Darmani defended himself, "it's just you two seem to hang out together a lot, you know?"

"Well, I like him," she shrugged, "is that a problem?"

"You know I trust you," Darmani put his hand on her shoulder, "just watch yourself, okay?"

"I will, big brother," Malon smiled, "I will."

-

When they left the tavern, they saw Mertok riding onto the square with a couple of guards behind him. He told them they were allowed to stay at the castle for the night, and that the next day, they would move on to Crenel Mountain at first light.


	14. Crenel Mountain

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 14 – Crenel Mountain

-

Things were going much better this day. They were able to leave earlier than planned because William was only 1 hour late instead of 2, so it was just past noon when they reached the foot of Crenel Mountain. There were several paths up to the mine at the top of the mountain, but most of them were interrupted by lava streams. They left their horses at the bottom and chose a path Mertok assured them was safe and started climbing it. Mertok's information on the Wizrobes had indeed been accurate and though they obviously were a different kind than the ones at Lake Talus. These were hunting in groups of three, with red fiery eyes underneath their large hat, and flames sprouting from their hands. Well, nothing Malon's arrows couldn't handle, really. Several times, the youngsters had to backtrack, because the path was blocked by a flow of lava that was too hot to pass, and now they were back where they had begun, at the foot of the mountain.

-

"Okay, how are we supposed to get up there?" Franklin grumbled as he paced around, "every damn path is blocked by lava.

"Pacing around isn't going to help," William sighed.

"Oh, and fondling Malon's hair is?" Franklin spat back.

William felt caught and removed his hands from Malon's neck.

"We're missing something," Franklin continued.

"Oh?" William regained his posture, "and what are we missing?"

"I don't know," Darmani said, causing William to startle, "but we are missing something."

"It's clear as day," Mikau continued, "but I can't seem to put my finger on it."

"And who's to say that the shrine is in the…" Franklin suddenly stopped and looked at the twin.

Darmani snapped his fingers when he realised what he was missing.

"What?" William asked, "what is it?"

"There's a mine on top of the mountain," Mikau said, "but why put a mine there? A mine always digs down, so you might as will put a mine at the bottom of the mountain and dig straight through."

"So?" William frowned.

"So," Malon answered, "we have to find some mine entrances around here too, and use those to reach higher."

"But we haven't found any," William shook his head.

"Mertok," Dekaru asked the young wizard, "how long have these mines been inactive."

"About ten years," Mertok replied, "I think they were shut down shortly before the Black Death came. There was no more ore in them, and we started mining at the east side of the mountain."

"So, all we have to do now, is look for abandoned mine shafts," Franklin shrugged, "should be easy enough."

-

Easy was of course relative. It took them several hours to find an old mine shaft, not far from a small path that had been cut off by a lava stream. Inside the shaft, the air was hot, like the inside of a furnace. After a few wrong turns, the kids finally made their way up a wobbly ladder and emerged on the surface. They found the path again, and continued their way. Fifteen minutes later, the path was interrupted again by a flow of lava.

"Well, so much for that idea," William sighed.

"Wizrobes," Darmani hissed as he got his bow and arrow out.

The kids dropped to their knees and looked in the direction Darmani pointed. Three Wizrobes came hovering closer, scanning the area for intruders. William jumped up and shot his bow, but the three Wizrobes quickly shot a fireball, incinerating the arrow and nearly William, if Malon hadn't pulled him out of the way. Darmani and Dekaru shot their bows and killed two of the mages before they could vanish, while Mikau drew his sword and glanced around to see where the third Wizrobe would appear. A flash to his left made him swing his sword instinctively and he would have missed, if a sudden flash of blue light hadn't come out of the tip of his sword. The Wizrobe shrieked loudly as he watched the flames at his hands freeze and before anyone could react, the Wizrobe had turned into an ice statue. Mikau frowned and slowly stepped to the Wizrobe, expecting some kind of trick, and touched the Wizrobe. The mage just shattered into small pieces. Mikau looked at the place where the statue had been and then to his sword, which gleamed with a blue-ish light, frost slowly forming on the blade.

"Well," he said, "we were told these swords were magical."

"Do you think I can do something like that?" Dekaru asked as he drew his sword and started swinging it.

"No idea, but don't test it here," Franklin grumbled, "you'll poke your eye out."

"Now is not the time," Malon snapped when Dekaru reached for his Deku stick, "we still need to find the Fire Shrine."

"Man, are you so anxious to get your ass kicked?" William whispered to Franklin with a grin, "you know you can't beat that guy, right?"

"If you could drag your eyes away from Malon's ass for a second," Franklin hissed back, "then maybe you'd get a clue."

"What's that supposed to mean?" William frowned, but Franklin just followed the others who had spotted another mine shaft.

-

This one was a dead end, and they had to backtrack until Darmani found another one, not far away, near a lava flow. In this shaft, it was even hotter than the previous one, and at some point, lava even poured in the shaft, only leaving them a small ridge to pass. Mertok nearly didn't dare to pass, but Mikau and Darmani were able to persuade him. When they finally left the shaft, Mertok laughed out loud, thanking the Goddesses he had survived. When Darmani tackled him and a fireball seared just above him, he knew he had better not done that. Dekaru grabbed his sword and swung it towards the vanishing Wizrobes. Nothing happened.

"Oh, come on!" he grumbled as he turned around, still clenching the sword.

The Wizrobes reappeared on his right and he spun around to strike. He slashed the closest one in half and a bolt of green energy hit the second one. Plants seem to grow over him and then he crumbled to dust, drifting away on a hot breeze. The third Wizrobe tried to vanish but was hit by a bolt of blue energy and froze to a statue, just before he shattered.

"I think I get it now," Mikau said as he investigated his sword a bit closer, "it won't work when you don't have a target, so you can't hit someone by accident."

"Wow," Dekaru whistled, "guess the Minish knew how to make magical weapons."

"Whatever," Darmani grumbled, "I think we're close to the top, but we still might have a long way to go."

"Jealous that you don't have a magic sword?" Mikau asked, trying to hold back a grin.

"Aw, shut up," Darmani grumbled as he passed his brother.

-

After two more detours through mine shafts, they found a path that wasn't blocked by a lava stream. On the contrary, it seemed to run right next to it. After a long walk, they finally reached a large mine shaft right next to a large pool of lava of which the stream originated.

"This is it," Darmani said as he pointed towards the top of the shaft.

A large fire symbol was seen carved out of the charred wood.

"So, now what?" William asked.

"The same like before," Franklin said as he started to set up camp, "those guys go play hero while we stay here and try to stay alive."

"You think it's safe to camp here?" Mertok asked.

"Look at that lava pool," Franklin pointed, "you see those bubbles in the middle? I'm ready to bet ten to one that the flow originates from somewhere inside the mine, so that means that inside, it's even worse than here. I'd say we're safer up here than down there," Franklin said as he motioned towards the mine shaft.

"Guess… guess we will camp here then," Mertok gulped.

"So, what do we do?" Darmani asked the others as he looked at the setting sun, "camp and get a good night's rest or go down right away?"

"Go down," Mikau said, "I'm already pumped up on adrenaline."

"Go," Dekaru nodded.

"Let's go then," Malon decided.

"Maybe I should go with you," William told Malon.

"No," she shook her head, "you have to stay here and protect Franklin and Mertok. It'll be dangerous enough here."

"Okay," William sighed, "I'll stay, but only because you ask me to."

"We'll be back soon," Malon smiled.

"Guess we'll be pulling an all-nighter too then," Franklin sighed as he readied his bow, "good luck to you and get out alive."

"Will do," Darmani grinned as he stepped into the mine.

-

AN: This Author's Note was supposed to come last chapter, but was forgotten due to the frustration that lead to this AN (how ironic). Time seems to be short again and the fact I didn't have my computer for a couple of days (thanks to some virus/spyware) not only cut down in my writing, but I also wanted to check out some other stories. I don't know when I'll have the time to read some other stuff, but I will try to when I find some time this weekend (but I can't make any promises, other than I'll try). Now that this is out of the way, know that I have big things planned for this series. I'm working on a story line for the next part, and I'm also working on some sort of sequel for this one. It's not really a "sequel" sequel, but it will feature one of the side characters from this story (which one I won't tell), and thus won't have any of Link's kids in it. Why should you read it then? So I don't have to put a footnote in a chapter somewhere in the future in the final installation of the series saying "oh, and he/she/it had a big adventure and ended up in Hyrule…" I'll give you one clue though. If I don't find a better idea, it'll be loosely based on A Link To The Past (if that's indeed the one with the Shadow World or whatever it's called).

Oh, and reviews of course urge me to write more! I thank Dra Gan for his support, but I know he's not the only one reading this, so you others review as well! (BTW, Dra Gan, who's Ashra? I searched the net, but couldn't find any mention of that name for any Zelda game. Guess that means he/she/it won't appear.)


	15. The Fire Shrine

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

-

Chapter 15 – The Fire Shrine

-

Franklin had been correct in his assumption that the lava originated from the Shrine of Fire. When they entered the first room, the floor was covered in lava, leaving only two paths leading to the doors on the left and the right. The path to the third door was blocked by a huge block with faces carved in it.

"How are we supposed to knock that over?" Mikau frowned as he looked at the stone.

"I don't know," Darmani shrugged, "maybe we will find some power gauntlets or something in this shrine."

"That's just wishful thinking," Malon shook her head, "but I'm sure we'll find something that will help us."

"Guess we don't have to decide which way to go," Dekaru said, "the door on the left is locked."

"Then right it is," Darmani sighed and made his way over the narrow path to the door on the right.

-

Slowly the door slid open, and the dark room was illuminated by a pool of lava to the right. Two Iron Knuckles were kneeling down at the other side of the room, each on the other side of the door. When the door slammed shut behind the children, the Iron Knuckles stirred. Slowly the two metal monsters rose and readied their weapon, a huge battle-axe. Dekaru and Mikau swung their swords and a blast of green and blue light hit both Knuckles. One of them became engulfed by plants, but it was just slowed down by it. The other one froze, but was also still able to move. Darmani raced forward and dodged the swing of the plant one and struck it on the side. Malon shot her bow at the other, but her arrows didn't seem to have much effect. Mikau charged the frozen one, and was able to hit it's knee. It went down, but swung it's axe towards Mikau. The boy just made a backflip out of harms way and took a battle stance. As the monster tried to get up, Darmani suddenly bashed into it. Because of the sudden shock, it lost it's balance and fell face first in the pool of lava. Darmani quickly turned, ready to catch the blow of the other one on his shield, but saw that Dekaru had driven his sword deep in the helmet and it fell down, shattering on the ground. Slowly the doors slid open to let the kids pass.

"Well, that was easy," Darmani said as he rubbed his soar shoulder.

-

"What were you thinking when you tried a stunt like that?" Malon shrieked, "if Dekaru hadn't taken care of that other one, you might have fallen into the lava!"

"I saw an opening," Darmani muttered.

"This is dangerous enough as it is," Malon continued, "don't make it worse by doing stuff like that."

"Wow, Malon," Mikau tried to calm her, "try to lighten up, okay? We're all fine."

"Besides," Darmani said pointing at Mikau, "you didn't say a thing when Mikau got impaled by that Freykon guy!"

"I'm sorry," she apologised, "I just don't want to loose you guys. I just don't want to loose anyone."

"What's with you, all of a sudden," Dekaru frowned, "this is what we do, you know that. This is what we'll keep doing for a long time to come. You said it yourself when you wore the Mask of Truth from that Sheikah guy, there's death in us."

"I know," Malon sighed, "I don't know what it is myself. It's just… I don't think I want it anymore…"

"Is this because of William?" Mikau asked.

"No…" Malon shook her head, then slowly nodded, "yes… I don't know… maybe… I mean, he's nice, but he's… I don't know…"

"Just stay focussed, okay?" Darmani asked her, as he put his hand on her shoulder, "we need you to kill Vaati, remember? We need to be there, all four of us."

"I know," Malon nodded, "and I'll be there. You can count on me."

"Good," Darmani nodded, still not really convinced, "let's go on, then."

-

The next room was even worse than the one with the Iron Knuckles. Squares with lava were all over the place, making it dangerous where to put your step. And to make it worse, three Wizrobes were hovering near a chest on the other side of the room. Darmani and Malon got out their bow and shot, but the Wizrobes vanished before the arrows hit their mark. Dekaru swirled around and his sword hit the first of the Wizrobes as it appeared behind him, causing the other two to vanish again. Slowly Mikau and Darmani advanced, scanning the room attentive for the two remaining Wizrobes. As he stepped on a small path between two lava pits, Darmani suddenly spotted one of them right in front of him. Before he could act, the Wizrobe unleashed a fireball at the poor boy. Having no other way to go, he jumped over the lava pool next to him, and rolled over the floor, just in time to stop in front of another lava spot. He quickly got up to his feet and did a backflip to dodge the fireball of the second one. He landed right on the ridge of the lava pool and would have fallen in if it weren't for Malon, grabbing him in the nick of time.

"Nice moves," she grinned.

"Good to see you're over your lapse of faith," he grinned back.

"Not quite yet," she admitted, "but it's getting better."

She spun around and slashed the reappeared Wizrobe behind her, in half. Mikau shot the last one with a blast from his sword and watched how the ice statue fell down a lava pool.

"We got the key," Dekaru triumphantly laughed as he opened the chest.

"Good," Darmani nodded, "now, let's be foolish and hope the rest will be a lot easier."

-

When Darmani opened the door, nothing could be seen, but they knew something was in the darkness. Noises could be heard from within. Mikau got out the lantern he had found in the Water Shrine and shone it's light in the room. Behind the door was a small ridge, just wide enough for the children to stand on, before it went straight down to a lower level. There strange creatures with a thick, spiny shell could be seen, with several columns rising up to match the level the children were on. In the distance another ledge was seen, with a door on and the only way to reach the other side was going down a shoddy ladder, across the lower platform and then up a ladder again. Next to the second ladder, a small chest was to be seen. But the creatures seemed not so easily to beat as their previous opponents. Malon got out her bow and shot an arrow, but it just glanced off the thick shield.

"Try a light arrow," Mikau suggested.

Malon powered up an arrow and let it go. The creatures seemed to withstand the explosion without any effort.

"Nothing," she sighed, "what about a blast from your sword?"

Mikau shrugged and swung his sword towards the beetle. Nothing happened.

"Okay then," Darmani sighed, "now what? We have to pass this to get to the other side."

"If we had some bombs," Mikau mused.

"What if we jump?" Dekaru suddenly asked.

"What do you mean, jump?" Malon frowned.

"Well," he shrugged as he pressed himself against the wall, "you know …"

He leaped forward up to the first column and landed in the middle. He then jumped to another column and so on until he reached the other side.

"Jump!" Dekaru shouted.

"Jump," Mikau chuckled as he pressed himself against the wall.

With a loud yell he leaped to the first column, and with as much ease as his younger brother, he made his way to the other side. Darmani quickly followed his brother's example and landed next to Dekaru and Mikau on the other side.

"Your turn!" Dekaru shouted to Malon.

"Jump," she whispered and pressed herself against the wall.

She leaped forward but somehow miscalculated the distance and just touched the edge of the column. She yelled out as she grabbed the side and tried to pull herself up. At the bottom, several beetles were gathering for when she fell.

"Come on, sis!" Darmani yelled, "what's gotten into you?"

"Yeah," Mikau shouted, "you've been able to jump further than that when we were playing in the Lost Woods!"

"That's right," Malon whispered to herself and forced herself to pull herself up, "I can do this. I've always been able to do this. This is what I do, this is what we'll keep doing for a long time to come. This is what we are. We have death inside us and we're not afraid to die. We're not afraid to take risks."

She took a deep breath and jumped from one column to another without any effort.

"You had me worried there for a second," Darmani said as he hugged his sister.

"I had me worried too," she whispered, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay," he smiled, "let's get to the next room, okay?"

"That won't be so easy," Dekaru sighed, "it's locked."

"But we don't have a key," Malon frowned, "it must be in that chest down there."

"It doesn't need a key," Dekaru said, "it seems to be closed with some sort of mechanism."

"So we need to find a switch?" Mikau asked, "like this one?"

He pushed a large stone at the side of the wall and with a loud crack, the door slowly slid downwards, just like the columns in the room.

"Great," Darmani muttered through clenched teeth as he watched the columns slid into the ground, "now we'll have to find a way to get past those shell things after all."

"But first, the problem at hand," Malon said as she drew her sword and stepped inside the room.

-

At the end of the room, a large round statue, standing in front of a chest, was visible in the light of several torches on the wall. A bright white eye in the middle of their face was in great contrast with the dark stone they were made off.

"Is it my imagination," Dekaru whispered as he slowly neared, "or did that eye just move."

Suddenly the statue hopped. The kids hopped too and jumped back a bit.

"Okay," Dekaru started again, "is it my imagination or…"

The statue hopped again, and again. It started hopping towards Dekaru with great speed and the boy was able to roll out of it's way right before it crashed against the wall. As Dekaru got up, he spun around with his sword and hit the statue. He muttered a profanity he knew he was too young to know, let alone use, if he had been raised as a normal boy, but since he wasn't, he thought it was a good time to use it.

"I didn't even chip it!" he yelled as he rolled away again as the statue hopped in his direction again.

"That eye did move!" Mikau shouted as he got out his bow.

"And not just the eye!" Dekaru shouted back, "in case you didn't notice, it's a hopping statue! And why does it keep bugging me?"

"Oh, shut up!" Mikau told his brother and shot an arrow, right in the bright white eye of the statue.

The statue trembled and continued hopping.

"Well, that didn't work!" Dekaru shouted as he dodged the statue again.

"Not everything works from the first time," Malon told the boy and shot the eye, right in the middle.

The statue trembled again, but continued hopping.

"Still not working!" Dekaru yelled.

"Third time's a charm?" Darmani asked as he let go of his arrow.

The statue trembled for a third time and stopped. Slowly it started to crack.

"Hey," Dekaru sighed, "that worked… uhm, anyone else smell smoke?"

The look of worry on his face was suddenly replaced by panic as he jumped back, hiding behind his shield. With a loud bang the statue exploded, sending shards of stone all around the room.

"Everyone okay?" Darmani asked, trying to wave the smoke away.

"I'm fine," Mikau told him, "Dekaru?"

"I'm okay," the young boy said, wiping off dust from his shield, "Malon?"

"I'm okay," she said, "what was that thing?"

"A hopping statue," Dekaru answered, as he walked up to the chest and opened it.

He frowned as he looked inside.

"What is it?" Darmani asked.

"It's a stick," he said as he held up a wooden stick, the head bend like it was a big question mark.

"What do you mean a stick?" Malon frowned, "give me that."

Malon took the stick and twirled it around.

"It's a stick," Dekaru shrugged, "and I don't think it's perfectly balanced either."

"Not every stick is a fighting stick," Malon sighed and she tapped the head of the stick on the ground.

Dust jumped up in a straight line, starting from the place where the cane hit the ground, towards Darmani. Before the boy could react, the shockwave hit him and he fell down.

"What was that?" Mikau asked.

Dekaru looked at the cane again and extended his hand.

"I found it," he said.

"You didn't want it," Malon retorted.

Dekaru wanted to use another profanity but then thought that now wasn't the time to use it.

-

Dekaru looked down to the beetles and patted his sister on the back.

"Well," he sighed, "I'd do it, but, you know, it's your stick."

"I don't think it's a stick," Malon said as she pressed herself against the wall, firmly grasping the cane, "but a cane."

"Same difference," Dekaru shrugged, "good luck."

Malon leaped forward and landed behind the beetles. She quickly turned around and hit the ground with the cane. A shockwave erupted from the cane and knocked the first beetle upside down. Before it had completely landed on it's back, an arrow had already hit the soft core. Malon kept on knocking over the beetles until all were dead and it was safe for the boys to climb down the ladder. Malon opened the chest and got out the golden key, that opened the final chamber. They made their way back to the first room and Malon used the cane against the large block that was standing on the path. Slowly it toppled over and fell into the lava, forming a bridge with the final door.

"This is it," Malon sighed, and pushed the door open.

-

AN: Ooh, I hope Malon can keep her head together until all of this is over. I feel kind of guilty of making William so charming…

Anyway, I'd like you to know I've nearly finished The Four Swords, and will update more if you guys review more (thanks again to Dra Gan, btw, I really appreciate your reviews), and will post an additional chapter for each additional review (ooh, isn't that nice of me). I know you guys are bugged there's no Link in this one, but then again, he died in the first part of the series, remember? But I do plan to mention him (once or twice) in the next part, so if you want me to write it, review, damnit!


	16. The Third Element

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

Chapter 16 – The Third Element

* * *

The only thing visible behind the door, was a ladder, leading into a large black hole in the ground. Mikau got out his lantern, but not even the magical fire could pierce the darkness enough to show the bottom. Darmani sighed and started to climb down. 

"Why couldn't it be a set of stairs like in the Water Shrine?" Mikau muttered as he followed.

"You okay, sis?" Dekaru asked as he stepped onto the ladder.

"I'm fine," she nodded, "I'm just wondering if William is alright."

"I'm sure he's fine," Dekaru smiled, trying to show confidence, "after all Franklin and Mertok are with him."

* * *

"You know?" William said as he shot another arrow, "this is actually easy." 

"Yet, you seem to miss a lot," Franklin muttered.

"Watch it, farm boy," William shot back, "it's a good thing I came up with this idea to shoot them like this."

"What do you mean?" Mertok tried to suppress a yawn, "it's the middle of the night, and the only lights visible are the flaming hands of the Wizrobes! If we didn't shoot every fire we saw, we'd be pretty stupid."

"Three to the left," Franklin said as he shot his bow, "one down."

"I see them, to the right," William nodded, "one down, one left."

Franklin looked in the darkness.

"I mean, still one more, not to the left…" William apologized.

"He's over here," Mertok said as he shot a blast of crackling energy to the fire not far from him.

"I wonder how Malon is doing," William sighed.

"Not as good as us, I reckon," Franklin replied as he aimed his bow again, "three to the left."

* * *

What seemingly took hours, the kids finally reached the bottom of the shaft, the air hot and thick like the inside of a furnace. It reminded them of the entrance of the crater of Death Mountain. 

"Just so you know," Darmani panted as he stretched his back, "the first to say we forgot something at the entrance and asks if we can return, gets stomped in the stomach."

"And in the face," Mikau added.

After a short rest, the children moved on through a low corridor to emerge in a large natural cave with in the middle a huge lava pit. On the other side of the cave was a large door with a golden lock. Dekaru, Mikau and Darmani drew their swords and raised their shields, and slowly advanced keeping to the side of the cavern. Malon kept standing in the doorway, holding her bow ready. Suddenly the whole room rumbled as out of the lava a huge turtle like creature emerged, with large spikes on it's shell, snapping it's beak in the air. It dropped it's fore paws on the ledge and stayed in the lava with the rest of it's body.

"Now we know what a Gleerok is," Dekaru whispered in awe.

Darmani who was standing not too far from the head, jumped and slashed the head, or at least tried to. The thick scales in the head of Gleerok stopped the sword, and the creature looked furiously at Darmani. It took a deep breath and as Darmani started to run away, breathed out fire.

"Oh fu…" the boy yelled before he was engulfed in flames.

"Darmani!" Malon shouted as she started to shoot her bow at the turtle.

"I'm fine," the boy shouted, rolling over the ground to put out the flames in his tunic, "just a bit burned, that's all."

Gleerok turned his head and let out another burst of flames, but Mikau was able to duck for cover. Darmani let out a fairy to heal his burns and saw some sort of orange crystal in the middle of the red shell. He got out his bow and shot it, but it glanced off the thick shell.

"That crystal," he yelled, "in it's back! I think that's the… oh crap…"

Darmani rolled out of the way from another fire assault and hid behind a rock.

"Time to do something constructive," Malon muttered as she got out her cane, "HEY TURTLE NECK!"

Gleerok turned around to see who dared to challenge him and Malon smashed the cane as hard as she could to the ground. A large shockwave caused the lava to splash up and the monster was hit by the full force of the blast. It's shell seemed to jump up and flipped over, driving the heavy spikes down in the flesh of the creature. But more importantly, a large orange crystal was visible on it's back, slowly pulsating as it were a heart. Dekaru swung his sword but nothing happened.

"Oh come on," he hissed, "that doesn't qualify as a threat?"

He jumped over the lava onto the monster and struck the crystal. Gleerok roared and came to his senses, and slowly started to sink into the lava pit.

"Dekaru!" Mikau shouted, "Jump to the side!"

"I can't," Dekaru shouted back, "the distance is too large."

A sudden gust pulled Dekaru backwards and his back came hard into contact with something cold. He fell to the ground and looked up. Darmani just grinned as he helped his brother up, holding the Gust Jar in his other hand.

* * *

"You think we got it?" Malon asked as the monster had completely disappeared into the lava. 

A load roar answered her question as Gleerok emerged again, splashing lava all around. The children ducked for cover to escape the hot lava drops and the monster returned to the side of the pool, ready to breath fire again. Malon jumped out again and before Gleerok could react, she smashed the cane down again, sending another shockwave through the cave. Again the shell jumped up and drove it's spikes deep into it's flesh again. Now it was Mikau that jumped onto it's back to hit the crystal. Again the monster roared in pain but suddenly jerked away from the side. Mikau lost his footing and fell, desperately clinging onto the crystal, grasping his sword in his left hand.

"Help him!" Dekaru shouted to Darmani.

"I can't," Darmani replied through gritted teeth, as he held the jar high, "it can't seem to find enough to focus on."

Gleerok let out a final roar and fell down, with it's head on the ledge, right in front of Malon. It seemed it didn't sink into the lava anymore. Mikau opened one eye and looked around. Slowly he got up, realised that, although he hadn't fallen into lava, he was still surrounded by it and quickly made his way over the dead creature's neck to the side.

"You okay?" Malon asked him.

"Sure," Mikau reassured her, "just… just need a minute to sit down. Think my adrenaline rush wore off."

"And just before the last door," Darmani sighed as he looked at the large door with the golden lock, "well, so did mine."

"With a bit of luck," Dekaru said, "he'll be as tired as we are."

"Yeah, right," Mikau grinned, "let's be foolish and hope it'll be easy."

* * *

The door slid open and revealed a large hall, similar to the halls in the other shrines, but with lava flowing on the sides. At the end, a large man with pink-red skin was clenching a white sword with red hilt in his fist. Behind him, the altar, shaped like an anvil, stood with above it, the now black Gem of Fire. 

"Who dares to disturb me on this early hour?" his hollow voice boomed through the hall.

"Us," Darmani said, "and you must be another stooge of Vaati?"

"I am no stooge," the man growled, "I am Barbatos, lieutenant of Vaati, the true ruler of Mendrova."

"Weren't you trained to fight Vaati?" Mikau asked.

"I was deluded, but then I saw the truth," Barbatos replied, "I was shown what I really was training for, and I've taken my rightful place."

"Yeah, whatever," Dekaru growled and drew his sword.

"That sword…" Barbatos started.

"Yeah, we know," Mikau grinned as he drew his.

"And we would like to add yours to our collection," Darmani added.

"How strange," Barbatos' eyes narrowed, "your clothes are burned yet you are unharmed. No matter, you will die."

* * *

Barbatos jumped forward and swung his sword, leaving a red trace of flames in the air. Darmani caught the blow on his shield and thrust forward, but Barbatos just stepped aside. Dekaru leaped to the side and then dashed towards Barbatos, but he took a step backwards, grabbed Dekaru's wrist and threw him away, like a ragdoll. 

"Just a moment," he grinned, "I'd rather keep it fair and fight you one at a time."

He turned back to Darmani and landed another powerful blow on the boy's shield. Darmani suddenly pushed his shield forward, catching Barbatos off guard and pushed him back. He swung with his sword, but Barbatos parried the blow and kicked Darmani's shield away. Darmani lashed out to Barbatos with his fist, only to be caught by his hand, slowly crushing Darmani's fist. Mikau tried to save his brother and attacked Barbatos, but the red brute simply ducked the swing and kicked Mikau out of the way.

"I told you," Barbatos grunted, "one at a time. But if you're in such a hurry to die…"

Barbatos spun around and shoved his sword deep in Darmani's chest. The boy fell lifeless to the floor.

"You murderer," Mikau spat and slowly advanced at the older man.

"Not yet," Barbatos nodded his head and stepped back over Darmani's body.

A fairy slowly rose from Darmani's body and faded in the air. Darmani stirred again and got up, only to find himself at the end of Barbatos' sword.

"I have heard about those fairies," Barbatos grinned, "guess that explains why your clothes were burned, but you weren't. You used one of those already, haven't you? Now, tell me, how many do you have left? Or wait, don't tell… It'll be easier to find out myself."

Barbatos thrust forward, but Darmani ducked out of the way, landing his fist on Barbatos chin. Barbatos pulled back his elbow which came in hard contact with the side of Darmani's head, causing the boy to fall. Slowly the red man raised his hand to his lips and felt the small trail of blood that dripped out of his mouth.

"You'll pay for that," he spat and raised his sword.

A sudden shock made him fall over and he looked around to find his new adversary. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Malon smash the cane back onto the ground and the shockwave going his way. He flexed his muscles to roll out of the way, but suddenly felt a heavy weight on his back. When the shockwave hit him, he fell down again, with Darmani still on his back.

"You little…" he growled, "I will see you in hell for that…"

Darmani just hit Vaati's lieutenant in the back of the head, causing him to scream. Barbatos pushed himself off the ground, sending the boy flying through the air. He jumped up, dodged a new shockwave from Malon and kicked Darmani in the stomach, and then his sword away from the boy. Mikau dashed towards him again, but Barbatos just stepped aside, punching the boy in the gut as he passed. Then he turned back to Darmani, raising his sword.

"Not so tough without your sword now," he laughed.

Darmani just reached behind his back and gripped the handle of the Kokiri sword tighter. Before Barbatos could strike, Darmani plunged the short sword deep in the stomach of his evil opponent. Barbatos just gurgled up some blood as he dropped the sword.

"Another piece of advice of our father," Darmani hissed, "always carry more than one weapon."

Darmani wiped off the blood of the Kokiri sword and put it back in it's sheath on his back.

"You have done it!" they heard a small voice say.

Two Minish jumped onto the altar, all excited.

"You have earned the Sword of Fire," they laughed.

"You definitely did," Mikau patted his twin brother on the back, "you beat that guy all by yourself."

"I couldn't have done it without Malon," he smiled at his sister, as he bend down and picked up the sword.

Just like the other two temples, the blackness on the crystal started to crack and red light flowed through the room. Darmani's face was illuminated by the glow of the lava as he watched it.

* * *

AN: wow, two reviews after the first day the new chapter was up. As promised, a new chapter for you (I'll post a second later this week). If I had known Pacci's Cane was so popular, I would have put it in from the start. 

Anyway, hope you enjoy the new chapter and keep reviewing.


	17. Goron Mountain

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

Chapter 17 – Goron Mountain

* * *

Darmani's face was illuminated by the glow of the lava as he watched it.

"The lava has a soothing effect, doesn't it?" he heard someone behind him say.

Darmani turned around and saw Link standing behind him.

"I guess you could say that, Goro," Darmani shrugged, "is that why Gorons are always near lava?"

"Could be," the Big Brother of the Death Mountain Gorons shrugged, "maybe that's why the Gorons of Termina weren't so friendly as other Gorons I've met. They weren't close enough to lava. Sure there were lava flows at their temple, but I guess they visited them not nearly enough."

"How are things in Termina?" Darmani asked.

"They're getting better," Link-Goro sighed, "although people still are distrustful when they're dealing with Gorons. But then again, who can blame them, after all that happened in the war. Still, all things considered, I believe we'll gain their trust again. I've heard that more and more traders are beginning to deal with Gorons, especially if they hear they're from Hyrule."

"That's good to hear," Darmani smiled.

"Here on the other hand…" Link-Goro sighed again and looked around in the hall of the Goron Mountain, "these Gorons have fought Zelda and are still weary of Hyrule. But the new Guild of Commerce of Hyrule has finally made some contacts here, thanks to the new leader of Horon Village, and the Oracle of Seasons of course."

"I've heard of the new leader," Darmani said, "it is said that after dad passed, he stood up and rallied others to fight the Subrosians to reclaim their lands."

"Indeed," Link-Goro nodded, "he had been fighting the Moblins and the Subrosians before your father came, together with the witch Maple, but never had any success, until Link was able to free Din. Then, with the help of Din and Maple, he was able to form a army to free Holodrum from Zelda's influence and stop the Subrosians. After Hyrule send out word of the death of Zelda, he accepted a trade route with Hyrule, under Din's influence, who's his advisor. A trade route that has now grown important for both countries. And now, these Gorons here have finally opened up to the Gorons of Death Mountain."

"That's good to hear," Darmani nodded.

"In fact," Link-Goro continued as he put his hand on Darmani's shoulder, "they've done even a bit more than open up, I must say."

"Oh?" Darmani raised an eyebrow as the large Goron led him to chambers of the Chief of Goron Mountain.

* * *

Before the mighty Goron entered though (rumour had it he was even bigger and stronger than his deceased father, Darunia), he brushed his light brown spiky hair back with his large hand, and then pushed the door open. Darmani was just about to ask why Link-Goro had done this when he noticed a female Goron standing next to the Chief of the Gorons of Holodrum.

"You see, we have just finished an important trade agreement with the Gorons of Holodrum, and as a token of faith, they have offered us a present."

The female Goron gave Link-Goro a small bow and gave him a dark red crystal, laying on a red velvet patch. Link-Goro nodded in gratitude and took the crystal from her.

"This is the Fire Stone," Link-Goro told Darmani, "it is very rare and valuable. I want you to have this, to remember the bond we have with you and your family."

"You are giving this boy our gift to you?" the Goron Chief grunted.

"Yes, I am," Link-Goro nodded, "I know this means a lot to you, and I am grateful for it. But I owe a great deal to this boy and his family and have never been able to repay him, and now I finally have something that I value dear enough to give to him. This is Darmani," Link-Goro introduced the boy to the Gorons present, "he was named after a great hero of the Snowhead Gorons in Termina, and, though he is young, he has already done enough to make sure that name is still associated with heroes, unlike the relatives of the original Darmani. I know that he will put the stone into good use and will not shame the name of Gorons everywhere in the world."

"I won't," Darmani smiled at hearing so much praise, "I will always honour my father's bond with your father, Go… Link… Our fathers were blood brothers, and I consider ourselves to be battle brothers. Whenever you need me, you know I'll be by your side."

"I know you will, my young brother in arms," Link-Goro smiled and patted the young boy on the back, "I know you will…"

* * *

AN: a bit later than I wanted, but here's the second update I promised. Another short chapter, I know, but then again, it's a flashback. Guess this means only one sword left… wonder who'll get that one? 


	18. Trouble with Mertok

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

Chapter 18 – Trouble with Mertok

"We thank you for your efforts in freeing the temples from Vaati's influence," one of the Minish on the altar said.

"Just doing our job," Mikau shrugged, "but uh… shouldn't the lava be disappearing?"

Darmani looked at the lava that still flowed at the sides of the hall.

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that too," he said.

"The lava remains in this room," the other Minish replied, "as you may have noticed, this altar looks like an anvil, because it is, or rather, was used as an anvil. As in the Forest Shrine and the Water Shrine, parts of the element are in the hall. And the lava represents the fire."

"I see," Darmani nodded, "but the lava everywhere else is gone, right?"

"Oh yes," the Minish nodded, "don't worry about that. Everything is safe now."

"Good," Dekaru smiled, "now let's check on the others and grab some sleep. Because I'm tired."

* * *

By the time the children exited the shrine, Franklin and William had already started to set up tents in the rising sun, near a small water pool that had replaced the pool of lava.

"See?" William told Mertok, "I told you they had succeeded. The mountain is safe again."

"I'm sure the people of Mendrova City will be pleased to hear that," Mertok nodded while suppressing a yawn.

"Let's get the tents up first and rest a bit," Darmani stretched, "we're beat."

Quickly they got up the rest of the tents and slept for a couple of hours.

* * *

It was somewhere early in the afternoon when they woke and broke up camp. Franklin took advantage of the opportunity to challenge Dekaru again, and again, he lost after a battle of fifteen minutes. Malon, in the mean time, told William how Darmani beat Barbatos single-handedly.

"That's not entirely true," Darmani waved the compliment away, "if it's wasn't for that cane Malon had found, I wouldn't be standing here."

"What cane?" Mertok frowned.

"We found this cane," Malon said as she showed the curved cane, "it emits a shockwave when the head is beaten on the ground."

"That's the Cane of Pacci," Mertok whispered in awe as he looked at the cane, "I've read about it in the ancient tomes at the college. It's been lost for ages."

"Well, we found it," Dekaru shrugged.

"I will take this," Mertok said, "and bring it back to the college in Mendrova City where it belongs."

"Actually," Malon narrowed her eyes as she started to put the cane back in her backpack, "I think I'll hold on to it for a while longer. It's proven helpful and I'm sure we'll be able to use it later."

"No," Mertok shook his head, "it's rightful place is in the college. You must give it to me."

"They can still use it, Mertok," Franklin told the wizard, "next thing you know, you'll want that jar Darmani found too."

"Jar? What jar?" Mertok frowned, looking at Darmani.

"This one," Darmani replied as he took out the jar.

"The Gust Jar," Mertok gasped, "that is also one of the fabled artefacts of the ancient times. It's as legendary as the Flame Lantern and the Mole Mitts."

Mikau thought it was a good thing not to mention the lantern was strapped firmly in his backpack and didn't say a thing.

"Well, if it wasn't for this Gust Jar and that cane, we wouldn't have survived," Darmani said, "so we'll use it until we've beaten Vaati. Then you can have it. For the moment they're too useful."

"You don't understand," Mertok shook his head, "these artefacts are…"

"Are very useful to us and have already saved our backsides on more than one occasion," Dekaru interrupted Mertok.

"You can't…" Mertok continued.

"We can and we will," Darmani said firmly.

"These artefacts…" Mertok shouted.

"Are helping us," Darmani repeated, "and they will keep helping us until we've dealt with Vaati."

"I won't let you take those artefacts!" Mertok yelled, "even if I have to take them by force!"

"You can try," Darmani hissed as he drew his sword, the blade emitting a red glow as if it were on fire.

"So be it," Mertok snapped, and started to move his hands to summon an energy ball.

Mikau simply punched him in the stomach, causing the wizard to drop to his knees, gasping for breath.

"I don't care what you two will do," he told William and Franklin, "but we'll be going now."

"We'll come with you," William quickly said, "after all, you don't know where the Castor Wilds are."

As the kids ran down the path with William and Franklin, Mertok got to his feet and cursed.

"You'll pay for this!" he shouted, "I'll return to Mendrova City and get reinforcements from the guards! They'll arrest you for this thievery and take those swords as well! We'll deal with Vaati ourselves, and you'll pay for your insolence."

* * *

"So, now what?" Franklin asked when they reached the bottom of the mountain, "we can't go back to Mendrova city now, and if we stop in Carston Village, Mertok could catch up with the guards."

"Then we go straight to the Carston Wilds," Darmani replied as he got up his horse, "I don't think we need any supplies, so we don't need to make any stops."

"We'll show you the way then," William told them, "but we have to be careful. The way lies close to Mendrova City."

"Don't worry," Malon assured him, "we can be careful if we want."

"I'm not worried," he smiled at her, "I'm sure we'll be able to pass without any problem."

"And to make sure we won't have any problem," Dekaru grinned as he took the reins of Mertok's horse, "we'll take this horse along for a while."

* * *

The trip to Carston Wilds was indeed without any problem, thanks to a small path they found some miles before they reached Mendrova City, and it had just become dusk when they arrived at the glades of Carston Wilds. William looked over the glades as he got off his horse.

"Is something wrong?" Malon asked.

"No," he shook his head, and looked back over the glades, "it's just… I've heard that the undead roam these glades, and well… Forget it, I'm sure the tales are exaggerated. I mean, undead?"

"Can be very dangerous," Mikau replied, "look over there, Darmani. What do you reckon? Gibdo or Redead?"

Darmani peered into the darkness to where Mikau was pointing.

"Gibdo I think," he answered, "though it's hard to tell from a distance. And in the end, there's not that much difference."

"There's some Stalfos there too," Dekaru said.

"Gibdo?" William blinked, "Stalfos?"

"Gibdo's are embalmed corpses," Malon explained, "and Stalfos are skeletons come to life. And then there are also Poes, ghosts if you will."

"You mean there are really…" William's eyes grew wide.

"Let me guess," Franklin gritted his teeth, "these guys are harder to kill than those Wizrobes?"

"Definitely," Darmani nodded, "a Wizrobe goes down with one arrow, but you just got to keep slashing at a Gibdo until it stops moving."

Malon saw the look in William's eyes as he looked at the moving shadows in the distance.

"Maybe it's best you stay here," she said as she placed her hand on his cheek, "I don't want to lose you."

"I'll be fine," he tried to assure her, but it was clear in his voice that he wasn't as confident, "I should be by your side."

"You're no good if you're dead," she whispered, "you stay here until we come back."

"I don't know if those Gibda's or whatever leave the Glades or not," Franklin said as he put down his backpack, "but I think it's best we stay here and make sure none of them do. Don't worry, we still have enough arrows to turn those guys in pincushions. I'm just bummed it's gonna be another all-nighter."

"Guess we better move on then," Darmani told his brothers and sister as he drew his sword.

"I love you," Malon whispered to William and kissed him on the cheek before she drew her sword and entered the glades.

William just smiled as he watched her leave.


	19. Castor Wilds

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

* * *

Chapter 19 – Castor Wilds

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

William looked at his friend, building a small fire.

"Well, can I help it women find me irresistible?" he grinned.

"Yeah, right," Franklin grunted, "you know? You make me sick."

"Why? Because you can't get any?" William grinned.

Franklin muttered a profanity under his breath as he stirred into the fire with a small stick.

"And what's it to you anyway?" William said as he sat down, "is it because you keep challenging Dekaru in the idle hope you'll win and get your ass kicked? Oh, don't tell me you're in love with her. Like she'll ever be interested in a farm boy like yourself. She's a hero for crying out loud."

"And you're not," Franklin shot back.

"Hey! My father died protecting the castle, while yours hid in his farm!"

"This isn't about our fathers," Franklin glared at William, "but about us. And fact is, I'm better than you, and you know it. That's why you keep rubbing it in my face that I was raised on a farm."

"Keep telling yourself that," William laughed, "and maybe someday you'll actually believe it. There's no way you're better than me, farm boy, and you know it."

"Now who's deluding himself?" Franklin grinned.

"Anyway," William said as he lied down, "what are we doing here anyway? We should go to Castor Village and sleep in a real bed. There's no way they won't be back before sunrise, so if we're back on time, they'll never know we were gone. We might even find some woman to warm our beds, if you know what I mean. Well, I might."

"You make me sick," Franklin repeated.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," William laughed, but suddenly sat up straight when Franklin jumped up.

* * *

Franklin held his bow ready, but lowered it and drew his sword when he heard someone approaching on the road leading to Castor Village. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw an old man, wearing the chain of village elder, step into the clearing.

"What are you doing here?" he asked the man.

"Are there not more of you?" the village elder asked, "I was told there were four heroes here, needing my help."

"They already entered the Wilds," Franklin told him, "and who told you they would be here?"

"An owl came to me," the elder explained, "not too long ago, telling me that four heroes wanted to visit the Shrine of Shadows. But they will need a medal to pass the gate. Otherwise they may fall prey to the undead walking the Wilds."

"Where can we find this medal?" Franklin asked.

"Wow, wow," William shook his head and looked at Franklin, "what do you mean, WE?"

"I have it here," the elder said, "but if they've already gone into the glades…"

"We'll give it to them," Franklin assured the man.

"Are you nuts?" William shrieked, "there are undead walking there… UNDEAD!"

"I heard you the first time," Franklin shot a glance at him, "and we'll manage. After all, I'm just a simple farm boy and you're a hero, remember?"

"No way I'm going in there," William shook his head, "that would be suicide."

"You're going to leave the girl you love wander around there to die?" Franklin raised an eyebrow.

"Enough girls in the world," William shrugged, "it was her choice, so it's her responsibility. I say we go to the village."

"Forget it," Franklin shook his head and turned to the elder, "give me the medal. I'll give it to them myself."

The elder gave Franklin an iron medal and after packing his bow and arrows, Franklin stepped into Castor Wilds.

"Insane," William shook his head as he gathered his things.

* * *

"I'm insane," Franklin panted as he looked around him.

There didn't seem to be any more undead around him, which caused him to let out a sigh of relief. Those two Stalfos nearly did him in, but he was able to defeat them. Darmani had been right. They were a lot tougher than those Wizrobes. Especially those Gibdo's, or whatever they were called. If Darmani hadn't told him about the healing powers of the fairies, he would have been killed a long time ago. He had lost two fairies fighting only one Gibdo. Two! And another one from a bad judgement call while fighting a Stalfos. Now he had only one left and he hadn't found the others yet. A noise made him look up and saw a Gibdo slowly advancing.

"Oh crap, I'm dead," he hissed, and grabbed his bow and arrow.

As the arrow hit, the Gibdo suddenly bursted into flames and the fabric that was used to embalm it lit up like a torch. Franklin blinked and looked down at this bow. He knew the others had the power to light their arrows on fire, but surely he couldn't… a shriek made him look back up again and as the flames died down, the remains of the Gibdo advanced towards Franklin again. Without the ribbons, it looked like a Stalfos, and seemed to move as fast as one too. He quickly drew his sword and dodged the Stalfos' first attack, to strike it from the side. He delivered another blow to the head of the skeleton and then slashed it's spine in two.

* * *

"You know, you really know how to take the fun out of a rescue mission."

Franklin swirled around with his sword raised to see who had spoken. He looked straight into Mikau's grinning face, who was holding the Flame Lantern in one hand, and the Sword of Water in the other.

"And what are you doing here anyway?" Darmani asked as he stepped up next to his twin brother, "aren't you supposed to guard the entrance?"

"And where is William?" Malon frowned as she looked around in search of him.

"Not now," Franklin panted, "we'll talk when we're safe, at the Shrine of Shadows."

"We can't reach it," Dekaru said, "there's some stone gate in the way."

"I know," Franklin nodded, holding up the medal, "you'll need this to open it."

"Just the thing we were looking for," Mikau grinned, "where did you find it?"

"The village elder of Carston Village brought it," Franklin replied, "he said he was told by an owl to bring it to you."

"Thank you, Kaepora," Darmani laughed, "I was sure we'd hear from him again."

"Let's get back to that gate then," Dekaru patted Franklin on the back, "and I think it's best you stick with us now."

"Good plan," Franklin smiled, "I only have one fairy left."

"You too, huh?" Darmani sighed, "I lost two in the Shrine of Fire and I had a bad run in with a Gibdo when we came in. We didn't know we could burn them like that yet."

"At least you didn't lose two against the same Gibdo," Franklin tried to grin.

"Wait," Dekaru frowned, "you only lost two when fighting a Gibdo?"

"Only?" Franklin raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Mikau nodded, "we once saw a guard fight a Gibdo who also had fairies to his disposal, back in Hyrule. I think he had about five or six, and he still fell to the monster."

"We were lucky Goro was there to help him," Darmani continued, "or he would have died."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Darmani assured Franklin, "if you only needed two against a Gibdo, it means you're an excellent swordsman. Guess all that training with Dekaru paid off."

"At least one who noticed," Franklin grinned, "but we should move on. We can talk when we get out of the glades."

"And where's William?" Malon asked again.

"I'll tell you later," Franklin sighed, "but you won't like it."

* * *

"So he's gone to the village?" Darmani asked as they sat down behind the closed gate, safe from the Gibdo's and Stalfos in the glades.

"Yep," Franklin nodded, "he thought he'd be safer there. And more comfortable. And see more girls. I think it's mostly because of the girls."

"I don't believe you," Malon shook her head.

"It's true," Franklin sighed, "he just acts all heroic and brave, but that's just to fool women. Why do you think he wasn't part of the four fighters Caleb chose to draw the swords in the cave? Because his mind was preoccupied with women and how to get them in his bed."

"And you?" Mikau asked.

"I'm not the sweet-talker William is," Franklin shrugged, "and I think that the job comes first, pleasure later."

"No," Mikau shook his head, "I mean, why weren't you part of those four."

"All the others were the sons of officers of the guards," Franklin said, "I'm just a farm boy."

"No," Malon kept shaking her head, "it's not true. He loves me, I love him."

"I wish it wasn't so," Franklin told Malon, trying to calm her down, "but that's how it is. Right before we met you, he had been with Tessa and Sondra in Pollykin. And one of the reasons why he was so late the day we went to Lake Talus, after we met Mertok, was because he slept with Sharon, one of the barmaids."

"He told me I was special!" she slapped Franklin in the face.

"I'm sorry, but it's true," a soft voice behind them said.

When they turned they saw Kaepora sitting on a rock, looking gloom.

"I wish I was able to warn you," the owl sighed, "but I was out looking for information to help you beat Vaati. But everything Franklin told you is true. William is not so nice as he appears to be."

Malon stood up and walked away from the others.

"You did warn us," she softly said, "you told us that not everything is what it appears to be."

She looked at her brothers again and drew her sword. Franklin caught the look in her eyes, and remembered the darkness in it from the first time he saw her.

"We have an evil to vanquish, don't we?" she said in a cold voice, "then let's go."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Darmani asked her.

"I'm sure," she nodded, "don't worry, I'm back to my old self again. Well, I nearly am. I just want to kill William if I ever see him again, but other than that, I'm okay again."

"He didn't… you know…" Darmani asked her as he held her.

"He didn't…" Malon let out a smile as she hugged her older brother, "I may have been in love, but I'm not that stupid."

"I'm glad to hear," he told her, "now let's go kill the bad guy."

"Hey," Mikau grinned as he tried to lighten the mood, "if it'll make you feel better, it's William's brother we're going to kill."

"Let's hope it'll be that easy," Franklin grunted as he got up.

"Sure it will," Dekaru grinned, "we got Malon back."

* * *

After a long trek, with the occasional Stalfos, they finally reached a large stone building. But more importantly, next to the building was a fairy pond.

"Think this is it?" Dekaru asked as he nodded towards the building, "I can't help but think it's a bit bigger than the other shrines."

"That was because the other shrines were all under ground," Kaepora told the young boy, "this one is completely above ground."

"Still," Mikau said, "it's looks very different compared to a hole in the ground."

"I wish you good luck," Kaepora said as he clapped his wings, "I still have other things to do, but if I find something interesting, I will let you know."

Darmani watched the old owl fly away and then watched the cloudy sky.

"Looks like it's going to rain later," he informed the others before he turned his attention back to the large doors of the stone building.

"Okay," he said as he drew his sword, "let's do this."

* * *

AN: Sorry for the (very) late update, but I've been busy recently. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter (and it causes some people to comment on it). As I've said before, I plan to write a story with one of the characters of this one, and I've been working out a plot line for it in the last weeks. And just to keep you guys interested, William's "revelation" isn't the only big thing I have planned for this story, but for that you'll have to wait until the end of the story… 


	20. The Shrine of Shadows

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

* * *

Chapter 20 – The Shrine of Shadows

* * *

Dekaru and Mikau pushed the large doors open and the kids entered the Shrine of Shadows. On both sides of the great hall, a staircase led upwards, but on the other side, a strange wall was build where the door was supposed to be.

"What gives?" Darmani frowned and went to take a closer look at the wall.

"It's dirt," he said after a short investigation, "the entire wall is made of soil, the same you can find outside in the ground."

"That's strange," Dekaru frowned and drew his sword to hit the wall, but all he could do was make a small cut.

"It's too thick to cut through," he said, "we'll have to find some other way to dig through it."

"Maybe the cane will help?" Malon asked, but Dekaru shook his head.

"I doubt it," he said, "it looks pretty compact, like it's been pressed together."

"In that case," Franklin said as he looked at the two remaining doors, "we have to find another way around. That door on the right looks locked."

"Let's go left then," Mikau nodded and started to climb the stairs.

* * *

The door slid open and revealed a large room, with a huge lit brazier in the middle. On either side of the brazier stood two suits of armours, smaller than the Iron Knuckles, but both armed with a spiked ball, attached to a long chain. As soon as the kids entered, their eyes lit up and started to move. Suddenly one of them threw his ball, and Mikau was just in time to dodge it. A yank on the chain, brought the ball back to the armour. Malon grabbed her bow, but her arrows just glanced of the armour-plating. Darmani jumped out of the way of another ball, and rolled towards the armour. Jumping up, he slashed the armour in two and ducked out of the way of the attack of the other suit of armour. Using this distraction, Mikau attacked the suit of armour from behind and it fell apart on the ground.

"That was easy," Mikau grinned.

"We're not done yet," Darmani replied, nodding towards the other door, "we still got another room to do."

The door revealed a round staircase, leading upwards. Soon they entered the room again, only one floor higher. And it was the same room, complete with the brazier and the two suits of armour, but now there were large holes in the floor. The door closed behind them and a spiked ball crashed into it, hard. Dekaru dashed forward, barely dodging another ball, and nearly fell down the hole, right next to him. He grabbed the edge and tried to climb up, but saw one of the suits of armour come closer, swinging his ball on the chain around.

"A little help?" he yelled out.

A red bolt of energy hit the armour in the chest and it was thrown back. Mikau sent another blue blast of his sword to the armour and it took a few steps back, causing it to fall down a hole. With a loud clang it smashed apart in the room below. Malon found herself on a straight line with the remaining armour and got the Cane of Pacci out. She ducked out of the way of her opponents ball and hit the cane on the floor. A shockwave caused it to topple over and fell down the hole next to it.

"Guess that took care of them," Darmani grinned.

"Still needing help!" Dekaru yelled as started to lose grip.

"You might as well jump down," Franklin said as he gripped Dekaru's hand, "I just checked the door and it's jammed shut. Guess that spiked ball trashed it's opening mechanism or something."

"Maybe the door's not open yet because the threat isn't over," Darmani replied as he scanned his surroundings.

"Nope," Mikau said as he opened the chest on the other side of the room and got out a key, "it's the mechanism, I just checked."

"Ah, guess the only way out of the room is jumping down one of the holes to get back to the room below."

"Let us know if it's safe," Franklin told Dekaru and let go of him.

"What? You dirty…" Dekaru yelled as he fell down.

With a soft thud, he hit the ground.

"You okay?" Franklin yelled.

"That was mean," Darmani grinned, "and that's why you're going second."

He pushed Franklin down and when he heard the boy hit the ground, he jumped down the dark hole.

* * *

Darmani landed on his feet and rolled forward, followed by Mikau.

"Good to see you've had such a good landing," Franklin growled as he rubbed his ankle, "I was a bit less…"

A sudden noise made him look up and held up his hands to catch Malon, or at least made sure she didn't fall on him too much.

"Thanks," she smiled at him.

"Don't mention it," he growled as he got out a small bottle out of his backpack, "just doing my best."

He removed his boot and put some liquid form the bottle on his ankle and started rubbing it.

"What's that?" Dekaru asked.

"It's something Caleb once gave me," he explained, "it's a special ointment for small injuries, like sprained ankles and such."

"That's strange," Malon said, "that looks like a potion Maple once taught me how to make."

"Who's Maple?" Franklin asked as he put his boot back on.

"An old friend," Malon replied, "she was good in making potions, but I guess there are other people too who knew how to make something like that. There's bound to be other people to make healing stuff other than the ones in Labrynna, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Franklin shrugged, "anyway, it feels better again, so let's move on."

* * *

Mikau turned the key and the door slowly slid open. Yellow sparks were visible in the darkness, but it was not clear what it exactly was. Mikau got out his lantern and lit the room. At the end, several blue jelly-like creatures became visible, crackling with energy.

"I remember those guys," Dekaru grinned and jumped forward with his sword ready.

A huge electric shock went through the boy when his sword made contact and he fell down.

"Those are other guys," Malon gritted her teeth and drew her bow, "there's a vulnerable core inside them!"

Malon and Mikau started shooting their arrows, but none seemed to be able to hit it's target.

"Mikau, you still got that thing you used to hit William and me on the first day we met?" Franklin asked.

"My boomerang?" Mikau frowned as he started to dig into his backpack, "yeah, that might just do the trick."

He threw the boomerang and it hit the Chuchu closest to Dekaru. It stood up straight, dazed and devoid of any sparks, and Franklin jumped forward, slashing the core in half.

"That's a big chance you took," Dekaru said as he got up.

"It seemed safe," Franklin shrugged, "besides, I've been known to jump the gun on certain occasions."

"Still, we know it works," Darmani nodded, "Mikau, if you will…"

Mikau threw the boomerang again, stunning the other Chuchu's and Dekaru and Franklin took care of the rest. A large flame suddenly sprouted from a stone brazier in the middle of the room and the door at the end slid open, revealing a staircase leading up.

* * *

The room above was much larger than the previous room. Not far from the entrance was a large hole in the floor, illuminated by the fire of the brazier right below it. Four Stalfos and a Gibdo were guarding a chest on the other side of the room. A door was seen in the wall at the back at the left side, but more importantly were the blue-ish round plants that were on either side of the room, and right behind the Stalfos.

"Remember those plants?" Malon grinned.

"Sure do," Darmani grinned back and aimed his bow.

"What are those plants?" Franklin frowned.

"Something that normally only grows when Gorons are around," Mikau said as his twin brother released the arrow.

A huge explosion blasted the four Stalfos to bits, and set the Gibdo on fire.

"You got to love bombflowers," Darmani grinned.

"Okay Franklin," Dekaru patted the young man on the back, "it's time you do something for a change."

"Hey!" Franklin growled, but advanced the burning Gibdo nonetheless.

Now that he was freed from it's cloth shackles, the Gibdo-turned-Stalfos was faster than before, but Franklin easily dodged it's grappling hands. A swift motion of his sword left a deep cut in the skull of the undead fiend and his second hit slashed it's spine in half, rendering it motionless.

"Nice work," Dekaru nodded approvingly.

Mikau and Darmani both applauded.

"Oh, screw you," Franklin growled.

"You did good," Malon smiled, "I doubt any of these boys could have done it better."

Mikau and Darmani looked at each other, and then both shook their head, showing they didn't agree with their sister's statement.

"In case anyone is interested," Franklin said as he opened the charred chest, "there's a key in here."

"Grab it," Malon said as she opened the door, "and let's move on."

* * *

The next room was rather small, or rather, it was a small cage. It looked over a large room with a large stone face and two hands carved into the wall, but metal bars were preventing them from passing.

"No other door?" Malon frowned.

"What gives?" Darmani growled, "there's only one door left, and that's blocked!"

He smashed his fist in frustration in the wall next to the door and a hollow thud was heard.

Mikau frowned and hit the wall on the other side of the door and heard a soft thud, indicating it was a solid wall.

"There's something behind this wall," Darmani said as he hit the wall again, "it's hollow."

"How do we open it?" Franklin asked.

"The bombflowers," Darmani snapped his fingers, "we get one and place it here by the wall. The explosion should be strong enough to blow a hole in the wall."

"I'll get the bombflower," Darmani nodded, and ran back into the room.

"We better get back in there as well," Malon said, "no need to stick around an explosion, right?"

The explosion had created a big hole in the wall, not far from only door in the cage, revealing a staircase leading down to the room below. The kids made their way through the debris and went down the stairs. The new room was as large as the first room of the shrine, but there seemed to be only one other door, the one leading to the entrance of the shrine, blocked by the soil. On the other side of the room, a wall consisting of the same black soil was blocking the door that no doubt had to be there. The floor consisted of large stone slabs, like any other room, but several patches of black soil were visible. On the other side of the room, behind about ten Stalfos and five Gibdo's, was a ladder leading to a small platform, sporting a large chest.

"Kill the undead first," Darmani suggested, "then we find a way out of here."

"Works for me," Malon nodded and powered up a fire arrow.

As she let go of the arrow, the rest followed Mikau, who activated his lantern. Quickly all the Gibdo's were burned and now they had to "only" worry about fifteen Stalfos who were advancing quickly. Malon put her bow away and drew her sword, and jumped forward, slashing one in half, while Dekaru spun around and decapitated two others. Mikau drew his sword as well, and struck an approaching Stalfos right through his skull. Darmani parried the sword of another, and in a swift motion slashed it in half, from groin to head. Franklin ducked out of the way of a sword and stuck his sword in the ribcage of his opponent.

"That doesn't work with…" Dekaru started, but was cut short when Franklin pulled his sword with all his might to the right, cutting the spine of the Stalfos in two.

"Okay," Dekaru admitted, "THAT works…"

It was clear the Stalfos were no match, despite their numbers, and soon, the last one fell to the ground.

* * *

"Let's just hope something is in that chest that can help us," Dekaru sighed as he started to climb the ladder.

"What's in it?" Darmani asked as his younger brother opened the chest.

"I… don't know exactly," Dekaru frowned as he took out a pair of brown gloves, each sporting large five-inch spikes on the fingertips, like claws.

"Didn't Mertok mention something about Mole Mitts?" Franklin asked when he saw the gloves.

"Yeah," Mikau nodded, "he said there were four lost artefacts, and that we already uncovered three of them."

"So these are the Mole Mitts," Dekaru said as he jumped down from the platform, "but, uhm… what do they do?"

"Put them on…" Darmani shrugged.

Dekaru put on the gloves and looked at them.

"I don't feel any different," he told the others, "just that I think it's a bad feeling to pick my nose when I'm wearing these."

"Well, moles dig, don't they?" Malon asked, "and since there are patches of soil blocking our path…"

Dekaru walked towards the blocked doorway, leading to the entrance of the shrine. He dug his claws in the soil and pulled them back. Large chunks of soil came flying with the metal claws and soon the doorway was cleared.

"Guess it can be useful," he shrugged.

"Did anyone else get a bad vibe in that cage room?" Darmani asked.

"You mean, like it's the final opponent before we reach the altar room?" Mikau responded.

"Exactly," Darmani nodded, "and we still haven't found the golden key to open that door."

"Maybe there isn't one this time," Malon shrugged.

"Or it's buried in one of these patches, here," Dekaru nodded, feeling where his brother was headed.

He walked over to one of the patches of soil and started digging. He found nothing in the first one, but the second patch revealed the golden key.

"Here we go," he smiled and started to dig through the wall made of the black soil.

Behind it, they found a door, sporting a large keyhole in the middle.

"Guess we'll face that face statue thing," Franklin said as he turned the key, "everyone ready?"

"We better be," Dekaru sighed as he took off the gloves and drew his sword, "let's do this."

* * *

AN: man, this chapter was hard to write. The layout of the dungeon wasn't that much of a problem (though I had to rewrite a lot of stuff to get the right feel), but I had trouble thinking up the monsters they could encounter. It makes me wonder how long I will make the last dungeon, or even if I will bother at all. Well, guess the future will point that out.

And on a side note, I'm glad I'm finally beginning to pick up some readers. Hope you guys all like it and, please, review.


	21. The Fourth Element

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

* * *

Chapter 21 – The Fourth Element

The five youngsters entered the large room, and it was now they saw the floor wasn't covered with tiles, like the other rooms, but was just the same soil they could find outside. Even some patches of sharp dark-green grass were seen from time to time. The large face at the end of the hall was looking down on them, and seemed to be constructed by large slabs of stone. Two open hands hung on either side of his face, with in the palms a large red crystal. Behind them, the door slammed shut and the large stone face started to tremble. Slowly it became detached from the wall and floated towards them.

"Okay," Dekaru gulped, "this is new."

The crystals in the large hands started to light up and the hands tore away from the wall, staying close to the head. Suddenly the left came crashing down on Darmani. They young boy was just in time to roll out of the way and tried to slash the hand with his sword, but he didn't even chip it. The hand slowly rose again, returning to the head.

"That crystal is there for a reason," Malon said as she grabbed her bow.

She let go of the arrow and hit the left hand right in the middle of the crystal. The crystal seemed to die down and the hand fell down.

"Alright," Mikau cheered, "way to go, Malon! Uh-oh…"

Mikau did a backflip as the right hand tried to squash him and he ran to safety. Malon took another arrow and waited for a good opening to shoot.

"Malon! We got trouble!" Franklin yelled, and pointed to the left hand which slowly rose again.

"Damnit," Malon grunted, "Mikau! I need your help shooting those hands!"

Her older brother nodded and grabbed his bow. Together they shot both hands out of the air. Just as Darmani was going to ask how they would deal with the head, it started to tremble and fell down hard on the ground, causing it's mouth to fall open.

"Well, that was easy," he said.

"A bit too easy," Mikau frowned.

"That's true," Darmani admitted, "there's got to be a catch."

Just as he finished speaking, the head trembled again, as if to shake off it's daze and lifted from the ground again, along with it's hands.

"How are we supposed to beat this guy!" Mikau yelled in frustration as he tried to find a clear shot to shoot the hands again."

* * *

Franklin kneeled next to a patch of grass and looked at it.

"Now is not the time to examine interesting flora," Dekaru nudged him, "time's a bit dire, in case you didn't notice."

"This isn't grass," he said, absent minded.

"What?" Dekaru frowned, still keeping an eye on the two hands.

"Why is the ground not tiled?" he asked the young boy, "why is there grass growing here?"

"I don't know…" Dekaru shrugged, "but I doubt that's…" Dekaru blinked and put his sword away, "I'll start digging," he nodded.

After putting on the Mole Mitts, Dekaru started to dig near a patch of grass, uncovering a bombflower.

"Darmani!" he shouted, "get over here! Now!"

Darmani came running, just as the head fell down again, with it's mouth open. Seeing the bombflower, he knew what to do. He grabbed the bombflower, and ran towards the open mouth. A well aimed throw landed the bomb right in the open mouth and exploded inside the head. The head rose again, but huge cracks were visible in it's stone face.

"Dig up another one," he told his younger brother, "Mikau! Malon! Shoot the hands again!"

Dekaru sprinted towards another patch of grass, but had to duck out of the way of one of the hands. The head seemed to know his intention and tried to keep him away from any other bombflowers, but thanks to the arrows of Mikau and Malon, he was able to uncover one, and as he ran towards another one, the head fell again. Darmani grabbed the bombflower and placed it in the open mouth. It exploded with a loud bang and the stone face cracked open from top to bottom and crumbled down.

"We did it!" Malon cheered.

"Thanks to Franklin who figured out how to do it," Darmani patted him on the back, "it's a good thing you checked those patches of grass."

"Well, you guys were doing all the work," he shrugged, "I had to do something to keep myself occupied."

"Time to do more work," Mikau said, "we still have one sword to recapture."

"Anything you can tell us about our next opponent?" Dekaru asked Franklin.

"Macleus? Him and Tellin were the best swordfighters," Franklin replied, "he also had something of a mean streak. He wanted to win, no matter what. He was known to cheat during duels."

"Our father once told us there is no such thing as cheating during a fight," Malon said, "just using what is at your disposal. And that's what we always do."

* * *

The stairs behind the door leaded upwards, towards the roof. When the youngsters arrived at the rooftop, rain had started to fall down while occasional lightning bolts illuminated the black altar at the end of the roof, and the sinister looking man, holding a white sword with a purple handle. He looked exactly like an older version of William, though his hair was now dark purple instead of blonde, and his face seemed white with a purple shade in it. Four black pillars stood in each corner of the rooftop, casting unnatural shadows when the lightning struck. Gusts of wind threw the rain in everyone's faces.

"So, it seems my little brother isn't with you," he grinned as he looked at Franklin, "but the annoying peasant is. Who are your friends? Other farmers?"

"Guess you didn't see yet what swords they wield," Franklin spat back, ignoring the insults.

"I have," Macleus grinned, "and it confirmed my suspicions that I was wrong to convince Caleb to include you in our little group. See, first it was all fun and all, just showing my little brother that we, as the sons of military, were better than simple farmers, but you got too damn good. Did you know that Caleb had almost picked you for one of the swords? Barbatos and me had to do everything in our power to make sure you weren't picked. No farmer boy will take the rightful place of one of the sons of Mendrova's glory."

"Wait, you think I defeated the others?" Franklin frowned, and then grinned, "man, are you in for a surprise."

* * *

"Let's get this over with," Darmani growled, as he wiped the rain of his face, "the sooner we're out of this wind, the better."

"It is a nice wind, isn't it?" Macleus grinned, "but it's not the only thing the sword can do."

He let the sword touch the ground in the shadows of the altar and out of the darkness five Stalfos crawled up.

"I think I will let these Stalfos deal with you and just enjoy the show," he laughed, "and maybe, I will look for my brother, who had more sense than you."

"It's strange how people always seem to confuse cowardice with sense," Malon spat, "guys? This one is mine… He reminds me of someone I want to beat up."

"You think you can…" Macleus' voice ran silent when Darmani and Mikau charged forward and both slashed two Stalfos in half.

The remaining one was shot down by an energy bolt, coming from Dekaru's sword.

* * *

He was just to make a comment on this, when Malon reached him. Macleus parried her blows and pushed her back.

"You know…" he started.

"You know," Malon cut him off, "the others talked a lot less, but the fights were a lot deadlier. You on the other hand, are just like your brother. All talk and no action."

Macleus growled as he dodged her attack and thrust forward. Malon was just able to jump out of the way, and had to use all her skill to keep herself safe from the deadly sword. Franklin hadn't lied, this guy WAS good. She couldn't win unless he made some mistake. Dekaru made a move, causing Macleus jump back and charge the young boy.

"We're not finished," Malon growled and jumped right after him.

"My, you're fierce," Macleus grinned, "let me guess, you're one of the little victories of my brother, aren't you?

"What's it to you?" Malon asked as she attacked, "you jealous of his conquests?"

Macleus just growled and pushed her aside, to concentrate on Dekaru again. Mikau and Darmani who stood further away, swung their swords, but the bolts of energy were caught by Macleus' sword.

"How did you…" he started, but then just growled and stabbed his swords in the shadows.

Four Stalfos came crawling out and attacked the others.

"That's not really fair, is it?" Mikau grunted as he cut one of the Stalfos down.

"I'm just using what I have," Macleus laughed, "and there's a lot more where those came from. Besides, you should talk! It's five against one! Well, actually four, isn't it, Franklin?"

He was fencing off Malon's and Dekaru's attacks when his sword suddenly shot back and snatched an arrow out of the air without looking.

* * *

"I haven't forgotten about you, Franklin!" his voice boomed, "I will deal with you later!"

Franklin just dropped his bow and drew his sword again to go help Mikau and Darmani.

"I have an idea," he whispered.

Under the noise of the wind and thunder he told the twins his plan. Both nodded and Mikau went to help his brother and sister who had just been pushed back. Macleus just grabbed the boy and threw him next to Dekaru. He touched the shadows with his sword again, and the emerging Stalfos grabbed the boys before they could do anything. Malon just circled Macleus, looking for an opening.

"Just you and me now, my dear," he smiled, "well, other than that Franklin loser and your idiotic brother who to no avail tries to shoot me."

He turned around and snatched the arrow out of the air with his sword. A bright light exploded and burned Macleus' eyes.

"AARGH!" he yelled, "what magic is this?"

"We're just using what we have," Malon stated as she drove her sword deep in his back.

As Macleus fell down, dropping his sword, the Stalfos crumbled and Derkaru and Mikau were freed from their bonds.

"Why didn't we think sooner to shoot a light arrow to one of those guys?" Malon shook her head, grinning.

"Beats me," Darmani grinned back, "if Franklin hadn't told me to do it, I'd probably would have charged him."

"Well, he had to hurry," Franklin shrugged, "now he only had the shadows of the lightning bolts to work with, but pretty soon it would be day."

"And sunshine means shadows all of the time," Dekaru nodded, "thanks a lot, Franklin. We owe you one."

"Forget about it," Franklin shook his head, "I mean, you are the guys who're gonna beat Vaati, right? I'm the one who owes you."

"No, it's true," Malon smiled, "we really owe you."

* * *

"And we owe you for freeing the shrines."

They turned around to face the altar and found two Minish on it.

"You have earned the sword," one of them told Malon, "and are the rightful owner of it."

Malon reached down and picked up the sword. The four black pillars in the corners of the roof hummed and then seemed to shatter, revealing four purple pillars. Malon watched how the lightning struck and smiled.

* * *

AN: Just to clarify, the Element of the Fourth Sword is indeed Wind. In the first draft, I replaced Wind with Darkness and Earth with Light, and though I changed it back to the original elements, parts of it stuck. So why all the dirt in the temple? No idea, I'm just following the Minish Cap. The Mole Mits were found in this temple in the game, so I needed something to dig through. Wait… I got it, the dirt in the temple blocked the flow of the winds in it… yeah, that sounds good…

Oh, and don't worry about William, he'll get what's coming to him. It's too bad no one really supported him in the beginning. I did my best to make him the good guy and Franklin the bad guy, just to make the impact bigger.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews. Now I remember why I liked writing for you guys. It's good to be appreciated.


	22. Maple

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

* * *

Chapter 22 – Mapple

* * *

Malon watched how the lightning struck and smiled.

"You like the storm, don't you?"

Malon looked back and saw Maple standing in the doorway of her small cabin.

"I guess," Malon shrugged and watched the thunderstorm again, "I mean, I remember Dekaru being scared when there was a storm, though he'd never admit it now," she laughed, "but grampa once told me I never was scared. That I even enjoyed watching the lightning."

"The lightning can be wonderful," Maple nodded.

"But I have to admit," Malon started again, "usually it's more wonderful when it's in another location. Do you have to live on a graveyard?"

"This was my grandmother's house," Maple said, "she's buried right there. And she would never forgive me if I moved."

"Uhm… isn't she dead?" Malon frowned.

"She better be," Maple said after some thought, "after all, she's buried, isn't she? Still, she gives some good advice."

"Okay, now I'm confused…" Malon shook her head.

"I'm a witch, remember?" Maple laughed, "I can ask the dead for advice."

"Must come in handy," Malon said.

"It would have been better if I could resurrect them," Maple sighed, "or even use their remains as Stalfos. We wouldn't have had so much trouble in the war then. Still, it's probably for the best, and what's done is done."

"Right," Malon nodded and looked at the storm again.

* * *

"Say, Maple?"

"Yes?"

"You knew my dad, didn't you?"

Maple sighed.

"Indeed I did," she nodded, "though we lost touch through the years."

"What was he like?" Malon asked.

"Very annoying," Maple smiled, "he was this guy who seemed to enjoy giving me a hard time. Whenever I was doing errands for my grandmother, he'd bump into me…literally. Of course, he'd say it was me who bumped into him, but still. Anyway, he was an amazing guy. Holodrum and Labrynna were in need of someone to save us, and he just did it, even though he was an outsider. Din asked for his help and he just helped, no questions asked. He gave it his all and was a hero, though he had this darkness in him."

"And then when I met him again, years later," she continued in a sad voice, "he had changed completely. Or actually, he hadn't changed at all. It's just that the darkness inside him had grown. He was hard and cold, without any joy. The only time he seemed… normal… was when he told me how old you would have been… were… well, you know what I mean. And that only lasted for a second. It was like he didn't allow any emotions anymore other then hatred and indifference."

Malon kept quiet and watched the thunderstorm. Everyone she had asked had told her the same. That Link was a hero the first time they met him, but after he thought Romani and his children were dead, he just didn't care about anything anymore. It was just hatred that kept him going. He had nothing to live for anymore and she feared someday it would be the same for her. After all, it was the family curse, as Link once said. Her grandfather, Madakar, had been the Hero of Time before her father, and he had gone, seeking death after he thought his wife and son were dead.

* * *

"This… darkness…" Malon started, uneasy on how to continue, "is it..."

"It's in you as well," Maple nodded.

"I know…" Malon whispered.

"But that doesn't mean it's a bad thing," Maple reassured her, "Link needed that darkness to do what he did. Someone without darkness can't kill someone, and Link needed to kill to be a hero. I know it's complicated, but…"

"I get it," Malon nodded, "to make sure we get the job done, we have to do what our opponent does."

"Something like that," Maple smiled, "but enough gloom thoughts. How about I show you how to make a healing potion?"

"That'll come in handy someday," Malon laughed, "show me, what do you need?"

"First of all, a nice cauldron, but more importantly, decent mushrooms," Maple told her as they entered the cabin, "you know? Somehow, I knew you'd be interested in this. I immediately saw you have the traits of a witch."

"Really?" Malon narrowed her eyes, "you're not just saying that because you want an apprentice, are you?"

"Apprentice? Hah!" Maple played insulted, "the only one have as my apprentice is my daughter."

"Oh? And where is she?" Malon enquired.

"She's with her father for the moment," Maple sighed, "the fool seems to think he has something to do with her education. I'm indulging it for the moment, but he'll learn soon enough that his part is over and I'll be able to train her properly again. Now, are you still interested in this potion?"

"I am," Malon nodded.

"Good… now take that bottle over there, the one with the purple mushroom in…"

* * *

AN: sorry for the late update, but something came up last week, and I was unable to continue my writing. I will make it up to you by posting the next chapter midweek. 


	23. Payback

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

Chapter 23 – Payback

* * *

The sun was coming up when a tattered figure entered Castor Village. His tunic was torn and his cape ripped, his wet black hair was clinging to his face and blood ran down the side of this face. He walked up to the inn and bounced on the door.

"Open up!" he yelled, "open this door!"

The innkeeper, still in his underwear, opened the door.

"Who are you," he asked, with a hint of fear in his voice, "decent folk is still in bed at this time."

"And liars too, I imagine," he pushed the innkeeper to the side and walked into the inn, "where is that coward of a William?"

"You mean sir William?" the innkeeper frowned.

"Sir?"

Franklin started to laugh loud.

"Get out here, sir William," he shouted up the stairs, "you have an appointment with faith!"

"Franklin? Is that you?" William asked as he came rushing down.

Franklin was impressed by the fact William was already dressed at this hour. Then he grinned when he saw two young women follow him down.

"I was just getting ready to leave for the Wilds," he told him, "what happened? You look terrible."

"No kidding," Franklin grunted and let himself fall down on a chair.

He looked at the innkeeper and flicked a rupee on the table.

"Get me something to drink, and make it snappy!" he growled.

"Franklin," William frowned, "this isn't like you…"

"No it's not," Franklin shook his head, "but given the circumstances, you can't blame me."

"What do you mean?" William asked, "what happened?"

"We were able to beat Macleus, but at great cost."

"What? Where are the others?"

Franklin took the drink from the innkeeper and looked away.

"Let's just say… we lost someone," he finally said.

"Lost someone?" William's eyes grew wide, "who? Malon? Is she alright?"

"Who's Malon?" one of the two women asked.

"She's… uhm… she's one of the warriors," William explained.

* * *

"Oh?" a voice from behind him came, "I'm just one of the warriors?"

William turned around and saw Link's kids stand in the doorway.

"Malon…" William tried to smile, but then frowned, "uhm… I thought Franklin said we lost someone."

"Yes, we did," Franklin sighed as he put a hand on William's shoulder, "you see, we lost you."

"That's right," Darmani nodded, "we entered Castor Wilds on our own, and then Franklin followed us with the key, but somewhere along the way, you got lost."

"And maybe it's for the best," Mikau shrugged, "that way we don't have to drag dead weight along."

"Wait," William slightly got mad, "you're calling me dead weight?"

"Indeed we are," Malon's voice sounded cold, "what did you ever do?"

"Hey!" William growled, "I helped keep those Wizrobes at bay at the lake and the mountain!"

"Actually," Franklin patted him on the shoulder, "that was Mertok at the lake, because you didn't want to give me your bow. And at the mountain, I shot more Wizrobes than you. Man, I gotta say, I've never seen anyone shoot that bad with a bow before, and I've seen you use it in practice. Guess you're not used to having a moving target."

"Anyway," Darmani continued, "bottom line is, you don't add anything to the group, so we won't be needing you anymore."

"You're not taking sir William along?" the other woman asked, "but his sword skills…"

"Yeah," William nodded, "I can fight better than farm boy here."

"I've heard from a very reliable source that's not true," Franlin grinned, "and I'm tired of making you look good so you can pick up every woman that smiles at you. So, let's settle this once and for all, "sir" William."

"What… what do you mean?" William frowned.

"A sword fight," Franklin said, "you against me, no holding back."

"No… no holding back?" William almost gulped.

"Relax," Mikau shrugged, "you have fairies, don't you? In case anything goes wrong, they can heal you."

"Meet me outside in fifteen minutes," Franklin said coldly as he passed William, "that'll give you the time to say goodbye to everyone."

"Don't be too sure of yourself," William growled, "I will beat you down, farm boy."

"Whatever," Franklin grinned as he stepped outside, "you're just like your brother, all talk and no action."

* * *

"Malon," William turned to the girl as soon as William was outside, "I'm glad you're still alive."

"No thanks to you," she glared at William, "you left us to die while Franklin showed up with the key."

"I was going to come with some of the villagers to fight the undead," he tried to explain.

"And those are two recruits?" Darmani grinned as he nodded towards the two women.

"Uhm…"

"A whole night for only two people," Dekaru thought out loud, "so, to rally the entire village at that pace… we would have been rescued, what… the end of the month?"

"Wait a minute here," William got angry.

"You don't have a minute," Malon snapped at William, "you got an appointment with Franlin in the town square, remember? And when that's done, we'll move on with him to fight Vaati, leaving your sorry ass here."

"I'm the son of one of the heroes of Mendrova!" William snapped, "you're going to take a farmer's son over me?"

"Actually," Malon's voice grew cold, "our mother was born and raised on a farm, and she was one of the greatest hero's Termina ever knew."

"I… I didn't know that," William tried to apologise.

"Franklin's waiting," Mikau informed him as he looked outside, "and it looks like he's better at rallying the village than you are."

William paled a bit but grabbed his sword and stepped outside.

* * *

Mikau had been right. Franklin had been able to wake the other villagers and nearly all of them were standing on the square, trying to figure out what the commotion was about. All heads turned when William stepped outside.

"Look, it's sir William," someone in the crowd said, "he'll give us an explanation."

Full of confidence William stepped to the town square and opposed Franklin. If Franklin had thought this would weaken him, he was gravely mistaken. He performed his best when he had an audience. There was no way Franklin was a better swordfighter than him and he would beat him into the ground, setting his reputation in Carston Village once and for all. Sure, Malon had slipped away, but there were other girls who could fill her place. Don't mourn for the one that got away, but prepare for those to come, was his motto.

"People of Carston Village," Franklin loudly declared before William could say anything, "I don't know what this coward has told you, but they are lies."

Gasps of disbelieve went through the crowd, and some were shouting for an explanation while others were calling for Franklin's removal from the village.

"I've been informed that this individual has been calling himself "sir", but he is no more nobility than I am," Franklin stepped towards William, "he trained as a knight, that's true, but fell short, long before the end. He has been using lies to get his way ever since, using gullible people, desperate for a hero, to do his bidding."

"Just what do you think you're doing?" William hissed.

"Embellishing the truth a bit," Franklin grinned, "I learned it from you."

"But rest assured," Franklin continued, looking at the crowd again, "I have come to put a stop to him."

"You're a fool," William laughed out loud, "you think you can get the people of Castor Village to turn on me with your lies? Do you really think they will believe some beggar that comes here waving a sword around, that I am some scoundrel? No… for too long I have let you be, but now you'll feel the steel of my sword and I will bring you to justice. I will not let my good name be dragged in the mud by the likes of you. It takes better dressed men to do that."

This caused some in the crowd to chuckle and William was pleased he still had the villagers on his side.

"Never really noticed how literate he was," Darmani whispered to Mikau, who nodded.

"I think the cuts and bruises only prove that I'm indeed a man of action," Franklin just shrugged, "more like the real hero than the storybook hero you claim to be."

Some voices in the crowd went up, agreeing to this.

"Burn," Mikau whispered back to Darmani.

"Listen here!" William shouted but fell silent as he was suddenly staring down Franklin's sword.

"Did you come for an argument or a swordfight?" Franklin asked coldly.

"It's about time I put you back into your rightful place," William grinned as he drew his sword.

* * *

William attacked Franklin, but he simply parried the blow and hit Franklin in the stomach with his other hand. William grumbled as he quickly got up again and attacked again, but Franklin dodged the sword and struck himself. William's turned away, but couldn't stop Franklin's sword from ripping his tunic open over his chest, nearly drawing blood. William charged again, and Franklin spun around, evading his opponent and kicked him in the back.

"You know I'm just playing with you, don't you?" Franklin asked.

"You're not good enough to play with me," William spat as he got up, "this is the best you can do, I know that. And you're a fool if you think that was the best I can do."

William attacked again, with a more complex manoeuvre than the first time, but Franklin parried and hit William in the face.

"Nope, I'm playing," Franklin stated, matter of fact, "Dekaru taught me well."

"He taught you all that this night?" William growled as he glared at the young boy, who shrugged.

"No, of course not," Franklin shook his head, amused, "remember those fights I picked with Dekaru? The one I was foolish to engage in because I'd always get my butt kicked? I knew I was going to lose, but in the mean time, I trained my skills. Didn't you notice our fights got longer every time? That was because I got better. I think you're the only one who didn't see it. Am I right?"

He turned to the others, and all of them nodded. William growled and charged Franklin, his sword straight ahead but his other hand gripping the dagger he hid behind his belt. As expected, Franklin evaded the charge, but when William drew his dagger, the hilt of Franklin's sword came down hard on his wrist. Then Franklin brought the hilt back up, knocking William on the chin, causing him to fall down on his back.

"Just like your brother," Franklin shook his head, "so, do you want to play it like that or keep it fair?"

Franklin drew a dagger of himself, and then looked at the crowd.

"What do you say?" he asked loudly, "a fair swordfight or resorting to devious tricks?"

Most people called for a fair swordfight but William heard some shout for devious tricks so the liar could get what was coming to him. He growled as he realised they were referring to him. He looked up when Franklin threw his dagger in front of him.

"Pick up your sword," he said, "it's time we continue."

"My wrist…" William tried to stall.

"Use a fairy," Franklin responded, "it's the only chance I'm willing to give you."

* * *

William stuck his sword in the ground and got out a bottle with a fairy. As the fairy healed his wrist he grabbed his sword and struck forward. Franklin expected this and simply ducked out of the way. He spun around, holding out his sword. William was just able to dodge the attack, but couldn't prevent a cut on his left arm. It wasn't deep, but he could feel his tunic getting wet with blood. He raised his sword again, but before he had the chance to attack, Franklin attacked again. William was able to parry and dodge all the blows, but his collection of cuts grew with each attack.

"Stop playing with him!" he suddenly heard Dekaru shout, "finish him off!"

"Told you I was playing," Franklin grinned as his sword entered William's stomach.

William's eyes grew wide as he fell down. He had lost… to a farmer… but he was the son of Mendrova's glory… his brother had told him so many times. He heard something shatter and when he looked up, he saw the disappearing trail of a fairy. Franklin had healed him and now was walking away to the edge of the town. The crowd was opening up to let him pass and were mumbling apologies for ever believing such a charlatan.

* * *

He will pay for this, William thought, he'll pay for this humiliation. Enraged, William reached out for Franklin's dagger, which had landed not far from him. Oh yes, he thought, killing him with his own dagger, what sweet revenge.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" he heard Malon say and felt the cold blade of her sword on the side of his neck.

He had the feeling if he even tilted his head a bit, he would open his jugular on the edge of the blade. His hand crawled away from the dagger. Slowly, to his relief, the sword moved away from his neck, but then her boot hit the side of his face.

"I think you broke his jaw," Dekaru said as he looked at the unconscious boy.

"Good," Malon replied, "the sucker deserved that. Now, let's get out of here."

"Uhm… what do we do with him?" the village elder asked, nodding at William.

"I don't care," Malon shrugged, "not my problem anymore."

* * *

"Actually he is…" Darmani thought out loud as he looked down at William.

"What do you mean?" Mikau frowned.

"When he wakes up, he'll want revenge," Darmani explained, "one way or the other. He's been humiliated in front of the entire village. And there's nothing more dangerous than a spoiled brat like that with a bruised ego. He might be able to go and help Mertok to stop us or even warn Vaati himself."

"Good point," Mikau nodded, "better lock him up somewhere safe until Vaati is defeated."

"Now that Castor Wilds is safe again, we'll take him to the Wind Shrine," the elder nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation, "it's the least I can do. I've seen how he reacted when I came bringing the key to your friend, and still I believed his lies."

"Well, if you're busy setting things right," Darmani grinned, "you might want to stall a wizard named Mertok. I'm sure he'll be here pretty soon. He's looking for us and wants to, indirect, I must say, sabotage our mission."

"Consider it done," the elder nodded.

"And indeed he's not far away," a voice made them look up.

"It's the owl that warned me yesterday," the elder gasped.

"Kaepora," Malon nodded, "good to see you. Do you have good news?"

"Yes," the owl nodded, "and bad. As you might have guessed, Mertok is on his way over. He'll arrive in about two hours, accompanied with about fifty guards. But the good news is, I know a way to reach the Veils Falls without running into him."

"Good," Darmani grinned, "let's go then."

* * *

AN: wow, this chapter was a killer. Everything except the first part of the first paragraph was re-written because, well, it sucked. The original plan sounded good, though, but when I actually read it, it was too out of character for Franklin. It was intended to be more dark than this, and consisted of Franklin luring William to the Wilds, telling him Macleus had won and promised one of the swords to whoever could kill the other, resulting in Malon scaring William with a Stalfos or two. Anyway, as I said, it wasn't that good when I typed it out, so I gave this a rest for a couple of days and started on the Wind Waker, just to clear my mind (to get you guys speculating, there's a boy called Link, and a pirate captain called Tetra. I know, I'm a stinker). Also, the reaction of Malon to the news she broke William's jaw may seem a bit weird, but know I wanted to use another word, but then remembered this was rated T, so I decided to replace the f with an s (and I don't think me giving this information is violating FF policy as "minor coarse language" is allowed and I believe T-rating allows the use of the f-word, as long as it's very rare). Still, not taking any chances and used s to be on the safe side. 


	24. Veil Falls

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

* * *

Chapter 24 – Veil Falls

* * *

"Man, I'm tired," Darmani stretched on his horse, "that's the second night we haven't been able to sleep."

"At least yesterday morning we slept in the morning," Mikau sighed, "but now we don't even have that luxuary."

"We should reach the forest where the Earth Shrine is in a couple of hours," Dekaru informed them, "with a bit of luck, we'll be able to rest there."

"Let's hope so," Franklin grumbled, "I'm beat."

"What's that over there?" Malon suddenly asked, pointing to a building in the distance.

"That's… that's my dad's farm," Franklin said without looking, "he's the only one who lives here. It's close to Castor Village, Mendrova City and even Pollykin Village, and he has all the space he needs for his cows. His milk is sold all over Mendrova, not only the south side."

"Hey, maybe we can stop there to rest," Darmani suggested.

"That's not a good idea," Franklin shook his head.

"Why not?" Malon frowned.

"It's…" Franklin sighed, "he wanted me to become a farmer like him, and I wanted adventure. So, when I was ten I ran away. Caleb found me and took me as one of his students, and I only saw my father again once after that."

"And?" Malon urged him to continue.

"Let's just say that a twelve year old boy has no reason to call his father the things I called him."

"Oh…"

"Well, maybe you can make it up to him now," Darmani suggested.

"No," Franklin shook his head, "it would take too long, and time is a luxury we don't have. But I will go back when Vaati is dealt with. After finally confronting William like that, I guess it's time I confront all my demons."

"Let's keep going then till we reach the forest," Dekaru nodded.

* * *

It was just past noon when the kids arrived at the forest, and soon they were found by the Minish.

"I was right about you," the Minish Elder said happily, "I knew you had the strength in you to secure the swords and you did. I saw the same strength in you as I did in Raven when I was a young boy."

"Let's hope it's enough," Dekaru yawned, "but for the moment, all we need now is rest."

"You can rest safely here," the Elder told them, "now that we control the shrine again, Vaati can no longer penetrate it with his power. You'll be safe there while you catch a nap."

"Great, back to that hole under the ground," Franklin tried to grumble and then sighed, "damn it, I'm too tired to even fake resentment."

* * *

It was still dark when the youngsters prepared their horses to travel to the Veil Falls, where the cave was where Vaati had been imprisoned for many years. As they passed Pollykin, sun started to rise and it was early in the afternoon when they finally arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"This is it," Franklin said, "Veil Falls. The cave is up there, and no doubt a way to Vaati's location."

"I guess there's no telling what's up there?" Malon ventured.

"No," Franklin shook his head, "the whole mountain was shielded by some invisible force field. Now that we have the swords, we should be able to climb it."

"Let's go then." Darmani nodded and started to climb the mountain.

They had gone up for a short while when Franklin apparently slipped and fell.

"Are you alright?" Dekaru asked as he helped the boy up.

"I'm fine," Franklin answered and looked suspiciously at the direction he was headed, "something just bounced me back…"

Darmani and Mikau frowned and looked around. They were further than where Franklin had slipped. Franklin started to walk up again and at the same spot, he stopped, apparently pushed back by an invisible barrier. He seemed to push into thin air and shook his head.

"I can't pass this point," he said, "it seems the barrier is still here."

Dekaru climbed up and passed him without any effort.

"Well, we can pass," he shrugged, "must be because we have the swords."

"Guess I'm excluded then," Franklin shrugged, "I'll go back down again and watch the horses. Best to make sure Mertok doesn't wait for you when you come down again."

"Too bad," Malon told the boy, "I enjoyed fighting by your side."

"I'll fight by your side again someday," he grinned, looking at Malon and then looked at the others, "I don't know what the future holds, but I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks," Dekaru smiled, "I'm sure we'll need it."

"Let's get moving then," Malon nodded and started to climb up again.

Franklin watched them go higher and then headed back down again. It seemed his part in fighting Vaati was over, but as long as Mertok wanted those artefacts, he knew the adventure wasn't over yet.

* * *

In a black orb, four figures were visible, climbing the rocky surface of the mountain side, and a hooded figure smiled.

"It seems you've lost another ally," he hissed, "you'll have to do it on your own. But that won't be too hard. Just wander deeper in my web and face the great demon Vaati…"

* * *

It was somewhere late in the afternoon when the four children reached the dark cave where all this began. They decided to rest a bit before they ventured inside, and Darmani looked intently at the cave.

"What's wrong?" Mikau asked.

"It's strange," Darmani shrugged, "we encountered not one enemy here on the mountain. You'd expect the most monsters would be here, considering this is where Vaati is."

"I know," Mikau frowned, "it doesn't seem to make any sense."

"Actually it does," a voice made them jump up.

From inside the cave, a dark shady figure was barely visible.

"Vaati…" Malon hissed and grabbed her bow.

She shot an arrow, but it seemed to pass right through it.

"Normal weapons can't hurt me anymore," Vaati laughed, "but to return to my previous comment. It makes perfect sense. You see, when I took control over the four elements, I used the resources I found there. The Wizrobes I created from old magic, still lingering at the lake and Crenel Mountain. The Stalfos and Gibdo's at Castor Wilds had been the bodies of the dead the people of Castor Village buried there. As for the Moblins, well, I was lucky there was a group of Moblins close enough for me to influence."

"And nothing's here because…" Malon narrowed her eyes.

"Because nothing's here," Vaati seemed to shrug, "nothing has ever been here. Despite the nice story the people in the land tell, I wasn't defeated here. I had conquered the land, so why would I come to this desolate cave? No… it was in Mendrova City that I was defeated by Raven. But it seemed the city officials had some problem with a demon trapped in a stone in their throne room, so they decided to transport my prison to this place. And I must say, it's was the smartest thing they could have done. I could have been freed years ago if it hadn't been for the fact I was stuck in this blasted cave."

"Well, we're going to place you right back," Dekaru jumped up and swung his sword at Vaati, expecting an energy bolt.

Nothing happened and Vaati chuckled.

"You know," Vaati's voice trailed off as he started to disappear, "if it wasn't for that girl, I could have sworn Raven had returned to fight me. You all look so much like him… well, time to see if you are indeed like him… are you coming?"

"Let's end this," Darmani grumbled.

He clenched his fist around the handle of his sword and stepped inside the darkness.


	25. Raven

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

* * *

Chapter 25 – Raven

He clenched his fist around the handle of his sword and stepped inside the darkness. Enemy after enemy he had bested in this foreign castle, and now he had reached the throne room. The door slammed shut behind him and torches along the wall suddenly lit up.

"Ah… Raven… you've returned…"

On the high throne at the end of the hall a young man was sitting. The only thing that betrayed the fact he was actually a Minish were his ears that protruded his dark blue shoulder-length hair. Unlike Raven's ears (and everyone else's), they didn't end in a pointed tip facing up, but seemed to go sideways. His red eyes however had a soft colour so they could easily be mistaken for brown.

"I'm not alone this time," Raven spat as his cap seemed to stir.

"Ah yes…" Vaati hissed, "my old mentor who escaped his prison… what good do you think your cap will do?"

"Granted," Raven seemed to agree, "not as much good as this."

Raven held up the white sword he had received from the Minish and was pleased when he saw Vaati's eyes grew wider and redder. But quickly Vaati narrowed his eyes, though the intensity remained.

"So," Vaati responded, "I see he has been able to lead you to the Minish, despite my best efforts to shield you from them. And they've created this weapon for you."

Slowly Vaati stood up, creating a black sword with the flick of his wrist and stepped down off the stairs leading to the throne.

"Still, it's no use," he continued, "I defeated you once and I can do it again."

* * *

Raven slowly advanced, holding his sword ready for an attack of the Minish sorcerer. Though the sword was a powerful weapon, Raven still would have felt more confident with the Master Sword. But that would mean returning to Hyrule and that required time he didn't have. And he wasn't ready to return there yet, not when he still had a job to do. He knew he'd return to his beloved after he killed Vaati and would finally marry her and raise a child. But after he became the Hero of Time, he felt like he needed some time to think, so he started to wander and found himself in Mendrova, where Vaati had taken over. Raven involuntarily blinked to chase these thoughts away, as he knew he couldn't afford them now.

* * *

With a swift motion, he charged the Minish, but Vaati was able to parry. Raven didn't give up though, and unleashed an onslaught of blows, making Vaati fall back. Vaati grunted and let out a roar of rage. Dark energy crackled through the air and threw Raven back.

"You've certainly improved," Vaati grumbled, "it seems you've become the better swordsman now… but can you fight four opponents at the same time?"

Vaati started chant in an unknown language and seemed to blur. Dark shadows sprouted from him and he split himself up in four persons.

"Now," the four Vaati's said in unison, "let's see you handle this…"

"Fear not," Ezlo inside Raven's cap said, "what he can do, I can do as well."

Raven paid not much attention to his Minish helper, but dodged the four Vaati's as best as he could, and only barely registered Ezlo beginning to chant. Suddenly a bright light surrounded Raven and he saw himself three times.

"I've used the powers of the swords to split you up in four parts," Ezlo explained as the four Ravens each turned to a different Vaati, "but unlike my no good apprentice, your power isn't diminished. You are all exact copies of the original Raven, it's just the swords that's split up."

Raven seemed to nod as he noticed each sword he (or they) wielded had a different colour of handle. One of the Ravens slashed a fiery blade while another seemed to freeze Vaati's blade with his own. Quickly the Ravens had the upper hand and forced Vaati back.

"Curse you, Ezlo!" Vaati spat, "but that's not the only trick I have up my sleeve…"

* * *

The four Vaati's started chanting again and all four changed into a dark ball of shadow. The four balls flew into each other and formed one large ball. Slowly the ball changed into a demon, with golden claws at his hands and feet, and large wings protruding it's back. A single red eye, burning fierce, was centred in it's head.

"Now you die!" Vaati boomed.

"Quick!" Ezlo shouted, "come together so I can reform you!"

"No," the Raven's said simultaneously, "we got him now."

"You fool," Vaati laughed, "you can't beat me now…"

Suddenly he let out a shriek of pain when one of the Ravens slashed him from behind. As he turned around, another Raven struck him.

"This won't help you!" Vaati raged, "you can't beat me with your pathetic swords. All you'll do is just make me more angry!"

"He's right," Ezlo agreed, "you can only beat him with the power of the four elements. This may cause him pain but it won't kill him!"

"All part of the plan," Raven hissed as he dodged Vaati's claw, causing an opening for another Raven.

Vaati shrieked in pain again and turned to the new threat. Unlike the other Ravens, this one didn't dodge but struck forward. Just as he was about to strike, Vaati saw another Raven make his move in the corner of his eye. Suddenly he felt two swords enter him from behind him as the two Ravens in front of him struck. Deep inside him the swords connected and seemed to burn him deeply within. With a loud shriek, a white light burned him from the inside.

* * *

Raven opened his eyes and blinked. What had happened? Oh, right, now he remembered. The light… He looked around and saw he was now just one Raven again. In the middle of the throne room stood a large black stone with one of the swords deep in each side of the stone.

"You did it," he heard Ezlo laugh under his cap.

He smiled and took it off, giving the old Minish the space to evaluate the situation.

"Ah yes…" the Minish nodded, "you've trapped Vaati."

"Trapped?" Raven frowned as he looked at the stone, "he's not dead?"

"No," Ezlo shook his head, "it seems his magic was too powerful, even for the sword. This has weakened him, and entrapped him into his own darkness. He's still alive inside, but the swords prevent him from escaping. As long as no one removes the swords, he'll be trapped forever."

"Then it's over?" Raven asked.

"It's over," Ezlo nodded, "I would like to thank you for your help, Raven."

"It's okay," Raven smiled, "I told you, I am the Hero of Time. It's what I do. But now I will return to Hyrule, get settled down and raise a family. I promised my father I would continue our lineage, and I intend to keep that promise."

"Good luck to you then," Ezlo smiled, "and may your offspring grow strong and courageous like yourself."


	26. Vaati

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

* * *

Chapter 26 – Vaati

Slowly the youngsters made their way through the dark tunnel, vigilant for a sudden ambush by the Minish sorcerer. Bones that crumbled beneath their feet were proof their father preceded them all those years ago. Finally they reached the final part of the cave, a large cavern, lit by fourteen torches placed along the walls. In the middle, in a circle of black debris, stood a large horned figure, with a single red eye in the middle of it's face.

"Time to see what you are worth…" Vaati's voice came, seemingly from all around, probably because he didn't seem to have a mouth.

Vaati unfolded his wings and seemed to fill the room, his golden claws glistening in the light of the torches.

* * *

Dekaru tried to fire of a bolt again and now he succeeded. A white light hit Vaati straight in the chest but it only fazed him slightly. He plunged forward, but the kids jumped out of the way, each heading to another corner.

"Spread out!" Darmani shouted, "our only chance is to surround him!"

Vaati turned and growled. He shot forward towards Darmani and was only stopped in his tracks because Mikau slashed him with his sword. Vaati quickly reacted and lashed out with his claws. Mikau jumped back but was still hit. Three red scars were visible through the rips in his tunic.

"Are you okay?" Dekaru yelled.

"Yeah," Mikau grunted as he stopped another attack with his shield, "I'm fine… don't worry about me, just get this piece of…"

Vaati grabbed the shield and crushed it. Thanks to his quick reflexes, Mikau was able to cut the leather straps of his shield with his sword or his arm would have been mangled and ripped off when Vaati threw the shield away. Malon ducked out of the way of the shield and planned on attacking Vaati as she got up, only to find the demon in her path. In a mix of instinct and skill, she raised her sword, causing the nearing claw to hit the blade. With a loud roar Vaati pulled back, giving Malon the opportunity to roll out of the way. Vaati started to go after her, but Darmani jumped forward and slashed at the demon's leg, nearly cutting it clear off. Vaati roared again and his wing shot out, knocking Darmani against the wall. Dekaru held himself ready to jump in front of Vaati if he decided to go after his older brother as he got up, but Vaati simply remained where he was, allowing the wounds on his leg to close.

* * *

"Damn it," Darmani cursed, "he's not bleeding!"

"You're right," Mikau nodded, "our attacks seem to have no effect at all!"

"Raven was able to defeat him with these swords," Malon said, "so we should be able to do the same."

"Too bad he had an advisor," Dekaru grumbled as he circled around Vaati, "and we have no one. For all we know there's an order in which we have to stab him."

"The swords used to be one, remember?" Darmani reminded him, "so that means… oh crap…"

"What is it?" Mikau frowned as he dodge Vaati's claw and tried to wound the demon.

"What if the whole sword the Minish made were indeed capable of defeating Vaati," Darmani continued as he lashed out with his sword, "but the four swords separately aren't?"

"I just said Raven was capable of defeating him with the four swords," Malon shook her head slightly, never taking her eyes off the black monster, "so there goes that theory."

"No it doesn't," Darmani countered, "remember, all the four swords were in Vaati's prison, so maybe we need to hit him all at once to defeat him."

"Good plan," Mikau sighed as he watched Vaati heal again, "because this doesn't really seem to have any effect."

* * *

With renewed vigour the youngsters attacked, but hitting him on the same time proved harder than initially thought. Each effort of the kids was foiled by Vaati, either lashing out to one of his attackers, or dodging a blow. Malon jumped back, and pulled out Pacci's Cane. Just as she hit the ground with it and a shockwave rushed towards Vaati, the demon jumped up and clapped it's wings to stay airborne. The shockwave simply passed the demon and threw Mikau to the ground.

"I know your little tricks," Vaati's voice came, again from all around.

His claw suddenly shot forward and impaled Mikau's chest. As Vaati withdrew his claw, Mikau slowly stood up, with the wound closing quickly thanks to a fairy.

"Even that one," Vaati seemed to laugh, "so you might as well give it up. You can't win."

"Like hell we will," Darmani spat and jumped forward, striking the demon mid-flight.

The demon roared and punched Darmani out of the way.

"If you know our tricks, then we'll have to find some new ones," Malon growled as she raised her bow.

She let go of a powered arrow, but Vaati ducked under the arrow.

"I know your tricks," Vaati repeated, "you used that against Macleus."

"And this one against Tellin," Dekaru said as he shot his slingshot.

The trajectory Vaati had used to dodge Malon's light-arrow made it impossible to dodge the Deku Nut and it exploded in a flash of light right in Vaati's eye. He roared with pain, and even more so when Mikau and Darmani pinned his wings against the wall with an ice- and fire-arrow. His left wing was frozen and his right wing was burning heavily. He placed his feet against the wall to pull him free, even if it meant pulling his wings off. His red eye kept blinking to get all the pieces of the Deku Nut out of it, and when he finally regained his vision, he saw the youngsters standing before him, ready to strike with their swords.

"You can't win!" Vaati yelled out as the kids struck.

The demon roared a final time and then petrified. Slowly he seemed to crack and as he crumbled to dust, they could hear a faint "you can't win…" in the air.

* * *

"We did it," Darmani sighed as he sat down on the cavern floor.

"We were lucky," Mikau said as he kicked away the pile of dust, the only thing that remained of Vaati.

"Let's hope it's really over," Malon growled while she still firmly gripped her sword.

"Don't worry, it is done," a voice behind them said.

All turned and saw a Minish standing in the entrance of the cavern, with a large hawk next to it.

"I no longer feel his foul presence in this cave," he said, "it is all over."

"Not exactly," Dekaru sighed, "we still have to deal with Mertok. No doubt has he already reached the mountain."

"I hope Franklin is alright," Malon said, "I don't think he's a match for the wizard."

"Or his fifty guards," Darmani nodded.

"You don't have to worry about your friend," the Minish said, "I have already taken care of him. The Minish Elder has given me a magical aid that allowed him to transport back to the forests. If you wish, you can go to."

"That's a good idea," Mikau smiled, "I think it's best if we avoid Mertok for the moment and get out of Mendrova as soon as possible."

The Minish nodded and took off his backpack. He opened it and retrieved a huge blue pearl out of it. The Minish threw the pearl on the ground before the four kids and it splashed open, forming a large puddle of dark blue liquid.

"Just jump into the liquid," he told them, "and you'll emerge in the forest."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Darmani raised an eyebrow.

"That's what your friend said," the Minish chuckled, "but still he leapt."

"Here goes nothing," Mikau sighed and jumped.

He went through the blue portal as if he had jumped in a large hole. The liquid didn't even ripple as he passed.

Darmani shrugged and followed his brother. Quickly Malon and Dekaru followed. The puddle returned to it's pearl-shape and the Minish put it back in his backpack.

"Well, Razorbeak," he told the hawk, "it's time we return to the forest. There's nothing left for us here."

The hawk turned around to give the Minish the opportunity to climb it's back and flew off.

* * *

AN: I know this seems a bit short, but I've never been good at fights (I can only think of so many moves for them to use before coming repetitive). Anyway, this is nearly the end of this part. I think I've said it before that it wasn't going to be as big as Professional Hero, since it's only supposed to be an interlude. I know all of you are curious now, but I will tell you people more in the Author's Note of the next and last chapter.

Also, I'm a bit disappointed that I haven't gotten any reviews for the previous chapter. It seems you people really don't care for Link's family, do you? I mean, I reveal that Madakar is actually Link's father in Professional Hero and not a word of it in any review, I announce that Raven is the original Hero of Time, and not even a "Wow... so Raven was Link's ancestor? Cool!"... Guess that means it's no use to introduce Link's half-brother in the next part, then. And I will have to find a new villain too instead of his grandfather. Oh well... you guys decide I guess.

Anyway, review, damnit! So I can start writing on the next part again.


	27. Leaving

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, or any of their franchise products, including the Four Swords on which this is loosely based (very loosely thanks to the Minish Cap, though this on a side note).

* * *

Chapter 27 – Leaving…

* * *

Gasping for breath, Mikau emerged from the small pond near a clearing in the forest.

"So, I guess you guys won," Franklin grinned on the side of the pond.

It was clear that he also had just come out of the pool, since he was soaking wet.

"Yeah," Mikau grinned back as he made his way to the edge of the pond, "but it was a hell of a fight."

Darmani also emerged from the pond, shortly followed by Malon and Dekaru.

"So, now what?" Franklin asked them.

"Well, Vaati is dealt with," Malon responded, "so I guess you can go home now."

"I guess," Franklin shrugged.

"Listen," Dekaru told him, "we'll go with you. We still have some time before we leave, and I doubt Mertok will go look for us there."

"We still have to dry our clothes," Franlin said.

"No we don't," Darmani grinned as he drew his sword, "everyone gather round."

The youngsters came closer to Darmani who stuck his sword in the ground.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" Mikau raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up," Darmani responded and the sword started to glow red.

A sudden heat wave erupted from the sword and their clothes were dried instantly.

"Guess there's no more point in delaying it then," Franklin sighed, "unless the Minish come bearing bad news…"

"We don't," the Elder appeared behind them, followed by hundreds of Minish, "I can no longer sense Vaati's foul presence, so he is gone, thanks to you. Ever since Raven's final battle with him, I could sense the demon, trapped in his prison, first in the castle, and later on the mountain. But now it is gone."

"Glad to be of assistance," Dekaru smiled.

"What about our horses?" Malon asked.

"My messenger will bring them," the Elder said, "they should arrive sometime this night."

"Then we can leave tomorrow morning," Franklin decided, "it's too late to make the long trek by foot now anyway. It's best we sleep here tonight."

"Fine," Darmani grinned, "but remember, this is your last chance to delay your trip. We go tomorrow."

* * *

Mertok was not pleased. The people of Carston Village had been very reluctant to share any information concerning the group of heroes, and especially when he said he wanted to go and check the shrine. When they finally led him to the shrine and opened the gate, he had found William there. Apparently he had been imprisoned there for spreading lies or something, Mertok didn't really care about this, but the others had already left. He decided to bring William along, after all, he could use a good swordsman by his side if it came to violence with the others. Mertok doubted reason would work with them. Still, all things considered, he had lost a lot of time in Carston Village, and now, when they finally had reached Veil Falls, night was falling. He had no idea where the others were, but they had probably gone to the cave where Vaati had been imprisoned. Mertok didn't want to confront Vaati. Sure, he had fifty guards with him, and William, one of Calebs heroes, but who knew how dangerous Vaati really was? He better return to Mendrova City and get more guards and maybe some of his mentors.

* * *

A noise interrupted his thoughts and he noticed a large bald man, covered in scars, step out of the bushes.

"Caleb!" William shouted, "you're alive!"

"Indeed I am," Caleb nodded, "but only barely. Vaati took control of my chosen four, and nearly caught me as well, but I was saved at the last moment by this man…"

From behind Caleb, a hooded figure stepped out, leaning on Caleb's quarterstaff.

"Greetings," he said with a faint voice, "my name is Ezlo…"

* * *

"That's really fascinating, Ezlo," Mertok said enthusiastically, "so, you're saying you were one of those creatures?"

"One of the Minish, yes," Ezlo nodded, prodding the fire with a stick, "so I'd appreciate it if you didn't call us "those creatures", we're an ancient race, and have been around long before Mendrova."

"Right, I'm sorry," Mertok apologized, "please, continue."

"As I said," Ezlo said with a shaking voice, "I was the one that helped Raven, the one that imprisoned Vaati, against the demon. Vaati had made a dangerous deal for unfathomable power and paid a terrible price for it when Raven defeated him. I felt however that Vaati wasn't completely destroyed, and sacrificed my life to bond myself to his prison. Little did I know it wasn't a real sacrifice, because when Vaati's prison was unlocked, by removing the swords, I was returned as well. I rescued Caleb from Vaati's grasp, but couldn't save his men. I then took this form to battle him when I finally regained enough power, but it seems he is already beaten."

"By those four thieves," Mertok grunted.

"Thieves?" Ezlo laughed, "you mean heroes! Why do you think those artefacts were hidden at the shrines? Raven found them there when he helped the Minish forge the sword and brought them back after he defeated Vaati. Those meddling kids, as you called them, used them the same way Raven did. I'm sure they would have returned the artefacts as well, but now that you've hunted them, I wouldn't be surprised they would keep them. I'm sorry to say, but it's your fault for the loss of the artefacts."

Mertok grumbled an apology, but Ezlo waved it away.

"Forget about it," he said, "I doubt we'll ever need them again, now the demon is gone."

"Are you sure it's gone?" Mertok asked.

"Yes," Ezlo nodded, "I, and I'm sure any Minish in the land, can no longer feel it's foul presence anywhere. And I already feel my powers returning now that it is gone. But I would like to ask you something…"

"What do you want to ask?" Mertok raised an eyebrow.

"As I've told you," Ezlo continued, "I am a powerful sorcerer. And now that Vaati is gone, I no longer have an apprentice. Would you like to become my new apprentice? I can sense great potential in you, a potential that can't be brought to the fullest by the wizards in Mendrova City…"

"I am honoured," Mertok gasped, "yes! I would like to become your apprentice."

"Very well," Ezlo smiled, "but now, let us turn in for the night. It is late and we still have a long way tomorrow. Caleb has told me of some interesting lands outside Mendrova and I would like to visit them."

"Very well," Mertok nodded, "goodnight, master Ezlo."

Ezlo stood up and walked towards his tent, not far from Caleb's and William's.

"Interesting lands indeed," Mertok heard Ezlo say as he left.

* * *

Potrin had just started to round up the cows to milk them when he noticed five horses riding to the farm. He cursed and started to walk towards them to meet them, clutching a hatchet under his cloak. The riders stopped but one of them kept going until he was in front of the old farmer. Suddenly Potrin recognised the rider.

"Hello dad," Franklin said.

"You've returned," Potrin spat, "and I see you've brought some friends. Those the guys you train wi…"

Potrin suddenly fell silent when he took a closer look at the others.

"Let us go inside," he told them as he turned around, "you can tell me everything inside."

* * *

"And that's it," Franklin concluded, "we left William in Carston Village and we left to fight Vaati. And now that he's gone, I would like to return to the farm. I know I've done some bad things, but…"

"You sure did some bad things," Potrin growled, "running off, joining the army like that."

"I'm done with that," Franklin shook his head, "all I ever did there was lie to myself. I wanted more than just life on the farm, and I thought that was the right place. Now I know I was wrong."

"I was wrong too," Potrin sighed, "instead of lashing out to you as I did, I should have trained you myself."

"What do you mean?" Franklin frowned.

"Your friends…" Potrin pointed at the others who were sitting at the end of the table, "you know, you all look like him…"

"Like who?" Darmani frowned.

"The Black Death," Potrin said, looking for a reaction.

When he noticed the youngsters glance at each other, he smiled.

"What do you mean?" Franklin asked, "how can they look like the Black Death."

"I don't know," Potrin said, "but they do. They have the same blue eyes and the same hair, well, apart from the girl of course."

* * *

"How do you know that?" Mikau asked.

"And how are you still alive?" Malon added.

"You know the Black Death, don't you?" Potrin grinned, "you've seen him after he left Mendrova, haven't you?"

"Yes," Darmani nodded, "we saw him seven years ago, in Hyrule."

"Was he still wearing his armour?" Potrin asked with an amused glint in his eye.

"Yes, he was…"

"I made that," Potrin grinned.

"You what?" Franlin shouted.

"I even helped him enter Mendrova City," Potrin continued.

"I can't believe you," Franklin shook his head, eyes wide with disbelief, "you let that monster loose on thousands of people?"

"That monster was our father!" Malon shouted, surprised from her own outburst.

"That explains the resemblance," Potrin nodded, and then turned to his son, "as for letting him loose, we had no other choice. The king was a cruel man, and many people fought against him. I was one of those rebels, fighting for a better country. But then he made a terribly allegiance with the queen of Hyrule…"

"Zelda," Darmani spat.

"Indeed," Potrin nodded, "normally she would have simply crushed us, like she had other countries, but she had learned something powerful was hidden here. Something she could use as a real ally."

"Vaati," Mikau nodded.

"Indeed, Vaati," Potrin continued, "and she sweettalked the king into an alliance, planning on releasing and controlling the demon. When the Black Death suddenly showed up, we thought she had succeeded. Luckily we realised our mistake soon enough, before too many people had died, and we asked for his help. He paid us to make him an armour to battle the troops of the king, which I did. Because he figured he'd loose too much time by charging Mendrova City, we smuggled him inside. The king didn't even know what hit him until his troops laid decimated on the castle steps. Unfortunately we didn't know that Vaati's prison had been moved, and we barely reached the cave in time. Zelda's soldiers had already reached the stone, but luckily the Black Death was able to kill them before they could do any real harm."

Potrin sighed as he remembered everything.

"I have seen combat my whole life, but when I saw the Black Death fight and kill like that, like he had never done anything else, and that was what he lived for, I realised I had had enough of all the bloodshed. I just wanted to live happily on my farm with my son. Too bad I never realised how much alike we were," Potrin grinned as he looked at Franklin.

"I'm sorry, dad," Franklin said.

"No, son, I am sorry," Potrin said as he hugged his son, "I should have explained it to you, and trained you myself. Then you wouldn't have gone to fight alongside the sons of those cruel leaders."

* * *

After they promised Franklin they would stop by the next time they were in Mendrova, Link's kids set off.

"So, where to now?" Malon asked.

"How about Termina?" Mikau asked, "it's been a while since we stopped there."

"It'll be good to see aunt Cremia again," Darmani nodded, "and the Zora's."

"To Termina it is then," Dekaru smiled and urged his horse onwards.

* * *

Headed in the opposite direction were four horsemen. Riding in front were Caleb and Ezlo, followed by Mertok and William.

"I can understand why you take the wizard," Caleb whispered to Ezlo, "but why drag William along? The runt is the worst swordsman I've ever seen. If it had been Franklin, I could have understood."

"Franklin is outside our grasp now," Ezlo said as he plucked at his ears that protruded his dark blue shoulder-length hair, "besides, we still need a human sacrifice to bring back your queen. Or do you want to take the honours, Hylian?"

Caleb grunted and urged his horse onwards.

"Like I said," Ezlo said silently to no one in particular as his eyes glowed red, "you can't win…"

* * *

AN : There you have it, the end of The Four Swords. It will take some time for my next stories, as I've started to write on two at once. One concerning a young boy named Link who's sister gets kidnapped by a giant bird in the Wind Waker, and another featuring one of the characters in this story, named Wannabe Hero (a wink to Professional Hero). So expect a hiatus of a few months (as I seem to lack in time again a bit) but I do plan to write more frequently as soon as I have the time and inspiration.

Anyway, let me know what you thought of The Four Swords, and I'll do my best to let you know the rest of the story quickly.


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